The Stories of Who I Am
by Reese M
Summary: Inspired by the song The Story from the musical event. Josie Robbins-Torres is the middle child of Callie and Arizona. These are the stories of her life and the people in her life, so yes it's a Calzona story because it's a story about their daughter.
1. Conception: Part One

Author's Note: Yeah, I know, what am I doing writing another story that's not L&O A&O or Voyager? I go where my Muse takes me guys and right now we're hopelessly addicted to and inspired by the Grey's Anatomy Music Event. Sara Ramirez just blew my mind. Standard, I don't own, I'm just having fun.

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><p>Conception: Part One<p>

There was a chill in the night air that made Doctor Arizona Robbins-Torres pull her jacket a little more tightly around herself as she walked from the hospital she worked in to the apartment she shared with her wife and their daughter. She should have been off hours ago, but ended up in an emergency surgery. A four-year-old boy had been hit by a car and had suffered internal injuries as well as a brain trauma. She and Sheppard worked for hours nonstop trying to save the boy. Arizona was exhausted, her whole body ached, but the boy was stable, resting as comfortably as possible in a medically induced coma in the Peds. ICU. Car accidents of any kind still effected Arizona even though it had been two years since the one that nearly cost her her family. Maybe it was still her guilt over being the one behind the wheel that day, but her normal fierce determination to never quit tripled when it came to car accidents. This time of year only made things worse. It was only a few weeks until their daughter's second birthday, which meant it was only a few weeks until the anniversary of that day. The day her world was turning inside out and upside down.

"_Callie? Callie? Callie!"_ The sound of her own voice calling out for her then pregnant girlfriend echoed in Arizona's head as she closed her eyes for a moment in the elevator ride up to their apartment. As did the sound of Callie's panicked, labored breathing as she laid broken on the hood of her SUV.

"_Is there a fetal heartbeat? Lucy, is there a fetal heartbeat?"_ Arizona would never in her life forget the three times when hearing the sound of her daughter's heart beating caused her own to beat as well. The very first time when Callie had camped out in Lucy's exam room, in the trauma room just after they arrived at the hospital after the accident, and in the OR when she'd saved her own child's just born life. _"I have a heartbeat."_ In more ways then one, in that moment listening to their baby's heart beating, and Callie's behind them, Arizona really did have a heartbeat. The Chief had been right. Mom's heart was strong.

Shaking off her memories as she stepped off the elevator Arizona quietly made her way to their apartment and carefully unlocked and opened the door. As late as it was she had a pretty good feeling that the loves of her life would be sound asleep and she didn't want to wake them. Sure enough after placing her things on the kitchen island the blonde turned to see her beautiful Calliope asleep on the couch with their tiny and just as beautiful nearly two-year-old daughter sprawled out on her chest. It was the most amazing sight to see no matter how many times she'd seen it. Sophie Grace had been born at one pound and one ounce and the first few days of her life had been a fight, a fight she had a lot of help with. Because Arizona was one of her parents, she couldn't officially be one of her doctors; she'd had to trust her friends, and Stark, to fill that role while she stepped up to be the super tiny human's mother. But Arizona couldn't completely turn off her doctor's instincts any more then she could ignore her new material ones, so when Dr. Stark was fumbling for a reason why the baby wasn't responding to treatment and stabilizing, arguing with Addison and Teddy over a course of action, Arizona took it upon herself to act. Sophie, like many preemie's, had a hole in her heart that would have naturally closed on it's own if she'd been carried to term. She needed to have surgery to fix it but wasn't strong enough for that yet. They needed her to be a little stronger, a little more stable, so for forty-eight straight hours Arizona held their tiny newborn to her bare chest in what was called a Kangaroo hold. It was just the boost the baby needed, she rallied and Teddy and Addison were able to repair the hole. It was all upward from there, and ever since then the best way to calm or sooth Sophie was to hold her so she could hear your heart beating and the warmth of your skin.

Which was why the toddler, her wavy black hair framing a face a shade lighter then her mommy's, was snuggled into Callie in a way that allowed her little cheek to press into Callie's skin, and her tiny pierced ear to press against her chest so she could hear the sound of her mommy's heartbeat. The straggles, the pain and fear of the first few months of Sophie's life had been the very reason why Arizona had never wanted children in first place, but she had been so wrong; so very wrong. Even with all that pain, worry, fear, even with the months of baby daddy drama before her birth and shortly after, Arizona wouldn't trade what she has now for anything. She loved that little girl with all her heart and soul, and to her own surprise she loved being a mother. She also loved being a wife to Callie. She loved the mundane and the extreme and everything in-between in their life together.

This bliss and contentment had Arizona preoccupied with some pretty deep thoughts lately. Walking in on scenes like the one in front of her didn't help either. The closer it got to Sophie's birthday the more Arizona thought about asking Callie if maybe they could give her a little brother or sister. As she walked over and very gently lifted their tiny toddler off her wife's chest Arizona couldn't help but think about growing up with Tim and how much she wanted that experience for her daughter. Sophie didn't stir when Arizona picked her up; she simply cuddled into her as she carried her to the nursery. After settling Sophie into her crib Arizona slipped the tiny pair of glasses from her sweet face. They'd been blessed when it came to Sophie's health. She didn't have any major issues following the initial ones. She was a little on the small side and she wore glasses to help strengthen her eyesight, but she had no illness and showed no signs of developmental problems. They were truly blessed.

Arizona was so engrossed in her own thoughts as she watched her baby girl sleep that she didn't notice Callie watching her from the doorway. There was a bright smile on Callie's face as she watched her wife and child, and the tender way Arizona caressed Sophie's cheek, the brightness that lit up those stunning blue eyes when Arizona looked at her. After stealing a few more moments to watch Callie walked over and wrapped her arms around the woman she loved. "Hey."

"Hey." Arizona replied softly. She'd felt Callie come into the room so she wasn't startled when she suddenly felt strong arms wrap lovingly around her. Just the opposite, as soon as Callie pulled her against her curvy, luscious body Arizona melted into her.

"How did your surgery go?" Callie asked softly as she rested her chin on Arizona's shoulder. She could tell just by holding Arizona that the surgery had been taxing physically, and she knew, because she knew Arizona, it had also been taxing emotionally.

"He's stable." Arizona answered. "He'll need a follow up in a few days, but for now things are looking good, at least one my end."

Callie squeezed gently and placed a soft kiss just under Arizona's ear. "You're such a tiny human rock star."

Arizona chuckled softly. Badass and rock star were terms Callie loved to use to decide herself in the OR, so getting called a rock star was a huge complement coming from her. "Did you and Sophie enjoy Mommy time?"

"We did." Callie said brightly as she looked down at their sleeping baby. "Though I think she's spending to much time with Addie."

"Why?" Arizona asked as she turned in her lover's arms so she could soak in the look of amusement and adoration on her face.

"I took her to the mall and she didn't want to leave the shoe store." Callie said with a roll of her eyes and a soft chuckle.

Arizona gave the other woman a knowing smile. "How many pairs of shoes that she'll be grown out of in a month did you buy her?"

Callie feigned innocence and gave her love a 'who me?' look.

"Calliope." Arizona teased firmly.

"She needed new sneakers." Callie said with a sheepish look.

"And?" Arizona pushed.

Callie laughed. "A pair of sandals and the cutest pair of baby crocs."

Arizona just shook her head and chuckled. "You really gonna blame Addison for that?"

"Yeap." Callie said brightly. "She isn't here to defend herself."

After kissing their sleeping daughter goodnight Arizona and Callie made their way to their own bedroom. Deciding that Arizona clearly needed some attention Callie decided to join her in the shower. She could feel the tension in her lover's body melt away under her hands and she took a great amount of pride in knowing that she was the one making her feel good. After moving things from the shower to the bed, Callie was fully expecting Arizona to fall asleep as they cuddled after making love, but when she looked down she saw those brilliant blue eyes staring across the room at a framed picture they kept on their dresser. One of the many, many, Christmas presents her father had given them was a trip to a professional photographer, so just after Sophie's first birthday the three of them and at Arizona's insistence Mark, went to have an obscene amount of photos taken of their little modern family. They had solo pictures of Sophie done, as well as Mommy and Sophie, Mama and Sophie, Daddy and Sophie, Daddy, Sophie and Aunt Lexie, a family photo of the four of them, of the five of them, and several of just the three of them, they even had a couple of just the two of them. The one on the dresser had been Callie's idea. It was a picture of Callie with her arms around Arizona, while Arizona held Sophie who was dressed like a little yellow baby chick. Callie was never going to let Arizona live down the comment she made about having a thing for chickens.

"Where are you right now?" Callie asked softly, breaking the comfortable silence in their room.

Arizona continued to look at the picture a moment longer before shifting in Callie's arms so she could look up into those big brown expressive eyes she loved so much. After all the emotions of the day, and now feeling so relaxed, so safe and loved, and happy, and because it was so easy for her to get lost in the depths of those dark sparkling eyes, Arizona couldn't stop herself "Lets have another baby."

Callie blinked those sparkling brown eyes a couple of times in pure surprise. "What?"

"Oh!" Arizona blushed and tried to pull away as she tried to work out a way to backtrack on what she'd blurted out. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"No, Arizona." Callie said firmly as she kept the blonde close to her body. Brown eyes looked deeply into blue as the raven-haired woman asked again, "What did you just say?"

Arizona ducked her head but Callie put a finger under her chin, making her look up at her. Arizona swallowed against a suddenly dry throat. "I've been thinking a lot lately about asking you what you thought about maybe having another baby."

A slow megawatt smile crept over Callie's face. "Really?" Her whole face lit up when Arizona nodded. "Baby, you know how I feel about kids. I would love for us to have another baby. It's just that after everything that happened with Sophie, I just didn't want to push you into anything."

"I love Sophie so much." Arizona said softly. "And I have never been so happy to be proved so wrong in all my life."

Callie laughed at that as she beamed at Arizona.

Arizona gave her a look before continuing. "I was such a scared idiot when I told you I never wanted kids. I look back at that moment in your lab and I want to kick myself. I look back at the fighting we did and our break up and I'm ashamed."

"Arizona." Callie said, stopping the rant right there. "You had good reason to be so scared. You got to watch first hand as parents went through the scariest moments of their lives. You got to see their joy and their sorrow. You were trying to protect yourself."

"And I very nearly protected myself from the most precious things in my life." Arizona said with a sad, soft sigh. "Sure, I saw all of that but until Sophie was born I hadn't seen that it was all so worth it. All of it, the good, the bad, and the Mark, was so worth it."

Callie hugged Arizona to her tightly and kissed her softly. "You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that."

Arizona smiled up at her love. "I want that again, Calliope. I want Sophie to have a sibling, I want to be a mom again, I want you to be a mom again. You're such an amazing mom, just like I knew you would be."

If Callie beamed any brighter she'd light up the entire state of Washington. "You're a wonderful mother, Arizona. I know you still doubt that, but you are. Sophie loves you so much she lights up whenever she sees you. We'll have as many kids as you want. Even if it's still ten."

The blonde's blue eyes sparkled like polished sapphires as she laughed. "Maybe we should be a little more realistic. Two, maybe three, sounds good to me."

"That sounds like heaven to me." Callie agreed before leaning in and kissing her lover with such fire and passion. It didn't take much for the two of them to once again start making love.

The next morning Callie leaned against the sink with a mug of coffee in her hands as she watched Arizona feeding Sophie her breakfast of scrambled eggs and diced banana. She snorted, nearly choking on her coffee, when their daughter wiped her banana sticky hand on Arizona's nose. Arizona laughed and Callie drank it in like a fine wine. "Were you serious last night?"

The question took Arizona by surprise. She looked up into Callie eyes from across the kitchen and nodded. "Of course I was. It wasn't just afterglow pillow talk, Calliope."

Callie physically relaxed and let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. "How do you want to do this? Do you want to…"

Arizona shook her head. "I know I should want too, shouldn't I? I mean I want us to have another baby, but I'm not quite ready to be…"

"I have no problem being the one who's pregnant again, Arizona." Callie said as she moved to sit beside her wife. "I liked being pregnant." She reached up and caressed the other woman's soft cheek. "If you're never ready that's fine, if you want to carry the next one that's fine too, but I do have one condition if we're going to do this."

"What?" Arizona asked with a little uncertainly in her voice.

Callie smiled as she cupped the other woman's face in her hands. "I want to have your baby." Arizona actually looked confused which made her look so adorable, and it caused Callie to laugh before leaning in and kissing her softly. "You're a doctor, baby, think about it for a moment."

It took several moments before it finally dawned on Arizona what Callie was saying she wanted. "My egg?"

"Very good Doctor Robbins!" Callie teased which got her a slap on the arm. Callie laughed before turning serious. "I'll carry the baby but I want it to be your baby. That's how I always wanted it, Arizona, I wanted to carry your child, that way you knew that it would truly be our child."

The thought was a little overwhelming but Arizona couldn't deny how much she liked the idea of being more involved this time. She loved and adored Sophie and wouldn't trade her for anything, but her conception had been a thorn in her relationship with Callie. They'd gotten past it of course, and since Sophie's birth she and Mark had even managed to like each other more. Looking over at Sophie who was happily licking banana from her little fingers, Arizona realized just how much she loved looking at the tiny version of Callie's eyes, and how it made her giddy to see their daughter raise her eyebrows in the same expressions as Callie, and how it amazed her to no end when Sophie would smile and she could almost see her own smile in the child's face. She wanted to give that to Callie because she knew how much it would thrill Callie to see the woman she loved mirrored in their child the way it did her.

By the time Arizona finally turned back to Callie, Callie looked worried. Reaching out Arizona traced at the lines in Callie's forehead before leaning in and kissing her softly. "Ok, it's a deal."

"Really?" Callie asked with wide surprised eyes and a small hitch in her voice.

Arizona nodded. "Really."

Callie pulled Arizona to her and kissed her hard. When they pulled apart she was grinning from ear to ear. "We'll talk to Addison as soon as we get in."

"Addison?" Arizona asked with a bit of a puzzled look. "Babe, she isn't a fertility specialist. She's more about the coming out not the going in."

"I know." Callie said with a chuckle. "But she delivered Sophie so you could save her life." Callie turned more serious then. "I want her in on this from the start. If she'd been here where she belonged and not down in LA, she would have been able to stop my contractions, or at least prepared Sophie better for a premature birth. Nothing against Lucy, but things would have been different if Addison had been here sooner. I don't want to take any chances this time."

Arizona saw a flicker of the guilt Callie had felt when Sophie had been born. They had both had a lot of guilt to work through, and it had added pressure to their relationship at the time, but they worked through it. Looking back, they'd worked through quite a lot. By the time they got to bring their daughter home she and Callie were stronger then ever. "She is the best and she'll know the best specialist to see, so lets have lunch with Addison."

That afternoon Arizona and Callie converged on the stunning redhead in the cafeteria. "Hey Addie. Mind if we join you?" Callie asked as she and Arizona sat down before Addison could answer.

Addison laughed. "Hey Tiger, Arizona, not at all. Actually, I was going to come looking for one of you later."

"What did you buy her this time?" Callie accused as she gave one of her closest friends a knowing look.

"Why do you assume the reason I'd need to find you is because I've bought something for Sophie?" Addison asks with a slight huff. "I could be asking for a consult. I am an OB surgeon, and Arizona is a Peds surgeon and…"

Arizona laughed gently. Since Addison's return to Seattle the two had been able to get to really know and really like each other. "We know you, Addie, and you can't help yourself."

"And finally having your own baby to shop for hasn't curbed your need to buy stuff for ours." Callie teased. After breaking up with Sam, Addison had moved back to Seattle. Sam had finally put his foot down about not wanting any more children, and finding out that he'd kissed his ex-wife while Addison was away dealing with her mother's suicide didn't help matters between them. After settling in Addison discovered she felt more at home in Seattle then she ever did in LA, and soon started taking the steps towards single parent adoption. Ethan Wyatt Forbes Montgomery was nine months old and his mother's pride and joy. Callie had never seen her friend as happy as she was now. "If anything it's made it worse because now you can buy all the cute boy stuff for Ethan and all the cute girl stuff for Sophie."

Addison couldn't keep herself from smiling. She was such a sucker for babies and buying baby things, and Callie was right. Having her own son had only made it worse because she actually had a reason to be in all the shops and boutiques. "Anyway, I found the most adorable little sundress. It's in my car. I was going to stop by later drop it off."

Callie just shook her head and laughed.

"We're only going to make her addiction worse." Arizona teased.

"I know." Callie replied. "We could be the cause of a Forbes-Montgomery bankruptcy."

Addison looked at the two women a moment before asking, "What are you two talking about?"

"We want to have another baby." Callie blurted out. "And we want you and the best fertility specialist you work with helping us get it."

"That's wonderful!" Addison said brightly. "You two are such great moms." Then she looked right at Callie. "A fertility specialist? Callie, I personally saw to the well being of your reproductive system. You should be able to get pregnant the good old fashion turkey basester way."

"Good to know." Callie replied. "But we're not going that route. I'm going to carry the baby but we're going to use Arizona's egg."

Addison looked between the two again and could see the happiness in their eyes and it made her smile. "You two are so sickening sweetly in love it gives me a sugar rush." She teased before saying, "The best would be Naomi, but since she's not really practicing, or local," And since Addison wasn't talking to her these days. "Then Diana Howard would be my choice for you two. She and I have worked together and she's got a pretty high success rate. I'll text you her number as soon as I get back to my office."

After Addison left the table Arizona looked at Callie. "I've always wondered something." Callie gave her a look that said to go ahead and asked. "Why does Addison call you Tiger?"

Callie laughed so hard she snorted. "She started that after I threw Meredith into the lockers in the intern's locker room. I was so going to kick her scrawny ass but Stevens stopped me."

Arizona raised an eyebrow at that. "You threw Meredith Grey into the lockers?"

Callie nodded with a knowing smirk. She watched Arizona's eyes flick over her body, and then watched the reaction play out over her face. She knew just what the blonde was thinking and it turned her smirk into a wolfish grin when she saw Arizona's pupils dilate.

"Good God that's hot." Arizona moaned softly. She snuck a look at her watch and then looked at her wife. "On-call room. Now."


	2. Conception: Part Two

Conception: Part Two

Their first meeting with Doctor Howard went well. Both Callie and Arizona were in perfect reproductive health and neither she nor Addison saw any foreseeable issues. Once she'd gotten the medical all clear Arizona started on a drug regiment that would help her produce multiple viable eggs for harvesting. While they were waiting on her eggs to ripen she and Callie were busy trying to pick a sperm donor. They talked about the attributes they wanted and about physical features, and even though they agreed on most something about the whole process didn't feel right to Arizona. Each time they'd find a profile they liked she would end up turning it down in the end. Callie was starting to get frustrated with her and she knew it. She just wished she knew why none of the potential donors seemed right to her.

Arizona hadn't been paying much attention to where she was wandering until she found herself outside the hospital's daycare. It was naptime she realized, and Sophie had been having trouble going down for hers lately. She was such an inquisitive child that Arizona thought maybe she was fighting her naps because she was afraid of missing out on something. She was just about to step inside when she caught sight of Mark sitting on the floor with his back against a giant teddy bear and Sophie in his lap. He was reading to their little girl as Sophie snuggled into her Daddy's chest, her tiny thumb in her mouth, her favorite blanket clutched in her other fist and her beloved stuff orca whale tucked under her arm. Arizona just stood there watching Mark and their daughter. He'd turned out to be such a good father that it surprised the hell out of everyone, including himself. Slow realization hit her like a ton of bricks and Arizona gasped.

Callie was bracing herself and her patient in preparation of putting his hip back into place when the door of her exam room opened. She was a little startled and surprised to see Arizona standing there wide eyed. "Doctor Robbins, is everything alright?"

Arizona paid no attention to Callie's patient or her intern. She wanted to say this before she lost her nerve or found her mind, either or. "I know why none of the donors have been right, Calliope. I know who I want to be our baby's daddy."

"What?" Callie asked as she looked into her wife's eyes. " Who?"

"Mark." Arizona said without hesitation.

Now Callie was the one with wide eyes. "Sloan?" She asked as she popped her patient's joint back into place. It was a good thing the man had passed out after she'd done his shoulder. That hadn't been the most graceful procedure she'd ever done.

Arizona nodded.

Callie left her patient in the hands of her intern while she drug Arizona to an on-call room. "You want Mark Sloan to be the donor?"

Arizona nodded again. "He's a good father, Callie. He loves Sophie, and she adores him, and I think we're all in a good place as far as figuring this whole three-parent thing out. I want our babies to have the same father." When Callie pressed her hand to Arizona's forehead the blonde looked at her oddly. "What are you doing?"

"Checking for a fever." Callie said deadpan. "Cause you're either a pod person or delirious."

Blue eyes rolled as Arizona gave her wife a knock it off look and batted her hands away. "I'm serious, Calliope."

"Oh my god, you are, aren't you?" Callie said after looking into Arizona's eyes for several moments. Her wife nodded. "Wow." She had to sit down.

"I know Mark and I haven't always gotten along." Arizona said as she sat beside her love on the cot.

Callie snorted. "That's an understatement."

It had in no way been easy for Mark and her to make amends but they had. They'd done it for Callie and for Sophie, and in retrospect for each other too. And it all started with a hug and a bloody nose.

_Arizona was exhausted but she couldn't go home to sleep. Not with Callie still recovering and their baby still so unstable. She should have taken the break Addison was giving her from sitting at Callie's side to get some sleep or something to eat, but instead she'd used it to check on Sophie. After sitting with the baby for a while Arizona found herself wandering the hospital until she found herself at the chapel. She'd been trying so hard to be so strong for Callie and their baby, so careful not to show them just how scared she was. Standing alone in the chapel, praying for the loves of her life, Arizona couldn't hold it in any longer. She began to sob and sob hard. She felt her knees go weak but was powerless to stop herself from crumbing. She was expecting to hit the floor but instead felt a strong pair of arms catch her and wrap around her. She looked up into Mark's face, their eyes locking, and in that moment they understood each other. When she was finally able to look away from his eyes she buried her face in his chest and let him hold her as she cried it all out. _

After she'd calmed down she and Mark had sat in the chapel and talked. He told her that he was afraid of being pushed out of his baby's life because he knew how much Callie loved her, how much she needed and wanted her, and he was worried that in creating their own little family he'd get tossed aside. She told him she was afraid of the same thing. She was worried because legally she had no rights, which is why when he'd said she was nothing it struck her to her very core. She promised him that she was done hurting Callie, and that she would never ever hurt Sophie, and that she would do everything in her power to make them happy. He admitted to being jealous of what she had with Callie, and promised to stop being a third wheel in their relationship. They both promised never to push the other one out of Sophie's life and that they would do better at respecting the place they each held in Callie's life.

While Arizona had been talking to Mark, Addison had been talking to Callie. Callie had known something was wrong with Arizona, she'd seen such a deep pain in her eyes, something aside from the emotions of Sophie and her, and she wanted to know what that was. Arizona wouldn't tell her so she'd started asking their friends. She'd been questioning Addison while April Kepner took her vitals. April blurted the truth out, leaving Addison to explain the details. Callie was livid.

"_How are you feeling?" Mark asked as he came into Callie's room to check on her_

_Callie's dark eyes glared at the man. It had been hours since April and Addison told her about Mark and Arizona's fight and she was still steaming. "I'm fine." She replied. "Come here a minute. I need something." _

_Mark moved closer to her just as Arizona came into the room. Neither of them was expecting what came next. Callie hauled back and punched Mark as hard as she could right in the face. _

"_What the hell Torres!" Mark barked as his hands covered his blood gushing nose. _

"_Calliope!" Arizona said in shock. _

_Callie looked right at Mark as she said, "Don't you ever EVER call Arizona nothing again! Do you understand me Mark? She is not nothing! She is the woman I love, the woman I am spending the rest of my life with, and the woman I am having a family with. You're Sophie's father and nothing will ever change that, no one will ever take that from you, but that does not give you the right to treat Arizona the way you did! I know you were scared but that's no excuse. It's all going to change Mark. I'm telling you right here and right now that if there's a choice to be made, I will choose her. I will choose Arizona every time. She and the baby are my family. Got it?" _

"_Yeah." Mark said as he and Arizona tried to get his nose to stop bleeding. "I got it." _

_Callie then turned that megawatt glare on her fiancée. "And you! Come here." _

_Arizona was a little hesitant. A royally pissed off Callie was a truly scary thing. She knew Callie wouldn't hit her the way she'd hit Mark, but still. Once she was sure Mark had pressure on his nose, she walked slowly over to Callie and sat on the edge of the bed where they other woman was pointing. _

"_Why didn't you tell me what happened?" Callie demanded. _

_Arizona blinked and swallowed hard. She felt like a small child being reprimanded for something she'd just gotten caught doing. "I… I didn't want to worry you. You've got enough on your plate worrying about Sophie and recovering. I didn't want to…" _

"_No." Callie said firmly, cutting Arizona off before she could start to ramble. "You do not get to take away my right to worry and be concerned about you, Arizona. I love you. I'm going to worry, I'm going to be concerned, and I get to know about the stuff that's causing you pain. I get to take care of you, just like you've been taking care of me. I'm so sorry this has all been so hard on you. I should have made sure you understood that you are my life, Arizona; you're my present and my future, and that no one could ever mean as much to me as you do. You and Sophie, you're my heart and soul, Arizona. You're the reasons I woke up, the reasons I breathe, the reasons my heart beats. You, me, and that little girl were made for each other. You two are the center of my universe." Callie pulled Arizona to her and kissed her. When the kiss ended she kept her hands cupping Arizona's face as she looked into those amazing blue eyes. "Got it?" _

"_Got it." Arizona whispered as tears pooled in her eyes. _

_With Arizona's hand in her own Callie looked at them both. "The three of us are going to work this out or I'm seriously going to start knocking your thick ass heads together. Like it or not the three of us are tired together for the rest of our lives, we need to start acting like a family. I swear to God Mark if you ever hurt my girl again I will kick your scrawny manwhore ass." She looked at Arizona then. "And don't think for a moment that I won't handle you if I need too." _

_Callie threat sent chills down Arizona's spin. _

"_You need to chill, Torres. We already worked it out." Mark told her. He was pouting now that his nose had stopped bleeding. "Damn it Torres I think you broke it!" _

"_I'm not strong enough to break it." Callie replied. "Yet. Hurt her that way again and I'll break more then your damn nose, you arrogant son of bitch." She looked between them again. "What do you mean you worked it out?" _

"_In the chapel." Arizona said softly. "We had a moment." She added, and then began to explain what had happened between them. _

Mark had surprised them both a week later with a legal avadavat giving his permission for a third party adoption that would give Arizona legal rights to Sophie. They started spending more time together just the two of them and really giving each other the time to get to know one another. Mark was still an arrogant prick, but he was a good man, and a good father. Yeah, she wanted Mark Sloan to be their baby's daddy.

They took a couple of days to really talk it over before deciding to ask Mark. Now that they were standing in front of his apartment door waiting for him to answer, Arizona thought maybe she should have let Callie do this on her own.

Callie could feel Arizona's nervousness so she squeezed her hand and gave her a warm smile. "It's going to be fine."

"Hey." Mark said as he opened the door. "You're early."

He was soaked and Callie couldn't help but laugh. "Bath time?"

"We had spaghetti for dinner." He said as he let them in.

Arizona smiled brightly as she walked into Mark's apartment to find a freshly bathed Sophie safely tucked into Lexie's arms on the couch. The younger woman was reading from Sophie's favorite book. "We're not actually early. We wanted to talk to you both about something."

"What's on your minds?" Mark asked as he picked up a couple of stray toys.

"Callie and I have decided we want to have another baby." Arizona said after she and Callie were settled.

"That's great!" Lexie said brightly as she cuddled Sophie.

Arizona smiled at the younger woman. It had taken a lot for Little Grey to come around. In the end her love for Mark had won out over her fears and insecurities, and she agreed to be in his life, though she still wasn't ready to be anything more then another auntie too Sophie. Which was going to make this even harder, Arizona thought.

"I'm going to carry the baby." Callie explained. "But we're going to use Arizona's egg."

The blonde took a deep breath as she looked at Mark. "We've spent weeks looking at donor profiles but Callie and I talked about it, and well, what we really want is for you to be our baby's father."

The room was totally silent. Even Sophie was still. It was Arizona who finally broke the silence. "I know this is a major bombshell, a huge thing to ask, and we know that you two need to talk this over."

"It was Arizona's idea." Callie added. She wanted them to understand that because she didn't want the same kind of tension as last time. She knew that it would help Mark if he knew Arizona wanted him this time.

Mark looked at Arizona in shock as he slowly sank into the chair across from her.

"You're a good father Mark." She told him.

"We don't want to cause any issues between the two of you." Callie jumped in as she looked between Mark and Lexie. "You two have been through as many fiery hoops as me and Arizona. We know how hard it was to get where you are. We don't want to threaten that. So it's perfectly fine to say no."

"I have one more cycle before my eggs are viable for harvesting." Arizona said softly. "So there's no rush. Take as much time as you need to talk it all over."

They talked for a few more minutes and then Lexie handed Sophie to Arizona. They were about to leave when Mark called out, "Hey, Blondie."

"Yeah?" Arizona said as she turned to look at him. The look of sincerity, and affection on his face took her aback a little.

"Thanks." He said simply. He hadn't given them an answer but just knowing Arizona had wanted him to be her baby's father, her baby with Callie, it meant the world to him.

Arizona just have him a bright smile and slight nod of her head.

All of their friends and the people they cared about most were at Sophie's birthday party. Everyone who'd been there that night and through the weeks that followed took a moment to think back and reflect on just how much of a miracle the little girl was. She and her mommy had pulled through some pretty catastrophic injuries and survived hell, and now here they were happy and healthy, and leaving everyone around them in awe.

Callie stood off to the side of the room with her arms around Arizona as they watched Bailey's son Tuck trying to teach two-year-old Sophie and one year old Christopher Grey Sheppard how to play cornhole, while baby Ethan watched from his mother's arms. Sophie grasped the idea of throwing the beanbag, just not that she was supposed to throw it at the board. She found it much more entertaining to throw them at her Aunt Miranda who's scary stern face just made the girl giggle until she toppled over, or at Karev who tossed them back to her. Chris, his parents own little miracle child, decided the beanbags were better for chewing then throwing and got kind of pissed off when his mother kept taking the beanbags away from his mouth. Christina Yang, in a rare moment of selflessness, had been Meredith and Derek's surrogate, and Callie liked to think that her hardcore friend's moment of tenderness had been a result of seeing how much Sophie had brought to the lives of the people around her.

Since the party was as much for the adults as it was for Sophie, the grown ups continued to chat and socialize while the three babies took their naps. Sophie, Chris and Ethan were all cuddled together on a makeshift pallet of blanks and pillows with most the adults in the room watching them.

"Aww, it's like pile of puppies cute." April said sweetly and doe eyed. When she noticed everyone looking at her she asked, "What?"

Lexie rolled her eyes and then she looked at Mark and smiled.

Mark returned the smile as he put his arm around her. "You think they're cute now. Wait until we throw some Sloan and some Blondie in the mix."

Arizona and Callie both jerked their heads to look at Mark. They hadn't heard from him on his decision and they were starting to think he was going to turn them down because it seemed like he'd been avoiding them.

"What are you talking about?" Derek asked his best and oldest friend.

Mark's smile was boyish and playful. "Haven't you heard? Me and Arizona are having a kid."

All eyes were now on Arizona in various expressions of shock.

"Oh my god he got to you too?" Teddy asked in an odd moment of déjà vu.

"Please tell me you did not give in to his fantasy about the three of you?" Derek said.

Meredith looked pissed over the thought that Mark had cheated on her sister again. "Lexie, what the hell are you laughing at?"

"Wait, you have a fantasy about us?" Callie asked.

Mark smirked. "I use to, back in the day, had one about you and Addison too."

Both Callie and Addison hit him.

Arizona looked a little pissed that people would think she'd sleep with Mark Sloan. "Oh hell no! Seriously? You people think I would sleep with Mark? Me? Hello, lesbian, happily married lesbian thankyouverymuch. Please, if you got to have her every night." She pointed at Callie, "Would you sleep with him?" She pointed at Mark.

"She has a point." Addison said brightly.

Teddy nodded in agreement and then asked, "Every night? Damn."

"I think I've been insulted." Mark said with a small pout.

"Can we please get back to this baby thing?" Bailey asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Callie and Arizona asked Mark to be the donor for the new baby they want to have." Lexie explained. "Mark and I talked about it and he's going to do it."

"Really?" Callie and Arizona asked in unison.

Mark nodded. "Yeap."

Both Callie and Arizona hugged him, nearly knocking him off his feet, and then they hugged Lexie. They knew that his choice had a lot to do with how she felt, and they would always be grateful to Lexie for this.

Doctor Howard had warned her that having her eggs harvested would be uncomfortable, that had been an understatement, but it was worth it. Callie had stayed by her side, holding her hand the whole time, and wiping at the stray tears that rolled down her cheeks when she closed her eyes against the pain. "Don't ever let anyone say you never went through the pains of labor." Callie had whispered as she'd pressed her forehead to Arizona's. A week later their first embryo was implanted. Nine weeks after the first failed, they tried their second attempt.

A chilling rain caused Arizona to pull her coat around herself a little tighter as she walked from the hospital to the apartment she shared with her wife and daughter. She wanted nothing more then a hot bath and some serious snuggle time with her girls. As she unlocked the door she wondered if there was a possibility to have both at once. Callie was waiting for her on the other side of the door. Before Arizona could even drop her bag Callie was pulling her close and kissing her hard. The kiss took Arizona's breath away literally, leaving her panting for air when Callie finally pulled back. "What was that?"

"I peed on a stick." Callie answered with her megawatt smile and arched eyebrows.

"You kissed me like that because you peed on a stick?" Arizona asked with a hint of confusion.

Callie nodded, still smiling, still beaming.

"You peed on a stick?" Arizona repeated and then her eyes went wide. "Oh my god you peed on a stick!"

Callie nodded again. "I'm having your baby."


	3. Birth

Spring in Seattle was beautiful. Everything was so green and alive, the weather was warm, and the sun made more of an appearance. Callie Robbins-Torres sat alone on a bench in the park overlooking the duck pound that her two and half year old daughter Sophie absolutely loved. Callie had slipped away from the hospital for a little while after performing the last surgery she'd get until after she returned from maternity leave. As of an hour ago she was officially on desk duty until she had the baby, which was just fine with her. It would be nice to focus on her family without being leashed to her pager. Arizona had been up in the gallery during the surgery, not because her brilliant peds surgeon wife had any interest in knee replacements, but because Arizona was just as aware of the timing as Callie was. Callie was six months into her second pregnancy and over the last few weeks she couldn't help but think about her first. Sophie had been born at twenty-three weeks because of a freak car accident. It had nothing to do with Callie or anything she'd done, but she had felt so guilty over her daughter's premature birth. She should have been able to protect her better, she should have carried her longer, kept her safe and sheltered inside her body so she could grow properly. But that hadn't happened; Sophie had grown and matured in a little plastic box in Seattle Grace's NICU instead. The closer she'd gotten to that mark in this pregnancy the more paranoid Callie got. She was going to protect this baby; she would do whatever it took to make sure this baby got the chances his or her sister didn't.

With her hands protectively placed on her swollen belly Callie closed her eyes and titled her head back, soaking in the warmth and light of the sun. She made silent promises to the baby that she would be extra careful so he or she could grow and get strong safe inside her where he or she belonged for the next three months. She also told the baby that his or her Mama had made the same promises, and that they loved him or her, and that his or her big sister was so excited to meet them. Arizona had made it her mission in life to take care of Callie to the point of it wearing a little thin on Callie's nerves. Callie hadn't said anything about Arizona's smothering because she knew that her beautiful blue eyed blonde was re-feeling all of her own guilt over the accident. The trip to the bed and breakfast had been Callie's idea, a baby shower gift from her to Arizona, but Arizona had been the one driving. Arizona had taken her eyes off the road for a moment to ask her to marry her and then a truck came out of nowhere. A stupid logging truck that came out of some hidden roadway that only some stupid logger knew about. Mark, in an attempt to get the mothers of his children to stop blaming themselves, pointed out that it was clearly Washington's' logging industries fault.

Mark, surprising everyone yet again, had been the calm one during this whole experience. He'd kept her and Arizona grounded whenever they let their fears and anxieties get the better of them. His relationship with Lexie was good for him and becoming a father had finally given him the focus and attachment he needed in his life. Lexie had been pretty remarkable herself. First in giving her blessing for this whole thing, and then in her actions of being there for everyone. She was after all in a relationship with Mark and had agreed to allow him to father yet another child with someone else. Her reasoning had been simple. She wasn't ready to have children and wasn't sure if and when she would ever be, and she knew how much being a father meant to Mark. Her sister Meredith had also played a part in Lexie's choice to be auntie to another Sloan-Robbins-Torres kid. The young woman absolutely loved and adored her older sister and had a much better relationship with her then she ever had with her younger sister Molly. Lexie wanted Sophie to have that kind of bond, the kind of bond she had with Meredith, Arizona had had with Tim, and Callie had had with her own sister growing up. Callie let her mind wander a little more, thinking about her family; her father had had a bit of a set back in his acceptance when Callie started involving children in her untraditional life, but he'd gotten over his concerns the first time he meet his granddaughter and saw that she and Arizona were good parents. She was suddenly brought out of her thought by the very distinct sound of ice rattling in a plastic cup. Opening her eyes she saw the most beautiful girl standing in front of her holding out a Starbucks cup. Another reason Callie loved the spring and summer months so much was because the sun lightened Arizona's hair, making it a more golden yellow then dark blonde, and the lighter color on top of her dark blue scrubs made Arizona's eyes pop. "What's that?"

"You've been such a good girl about your coffee that I thought you deserved a little treat." Arizona said with a bright, playful smile as she took a seat next to the raven-haired woman.

Callie accepted the cup and took a long sip. Her dark eyes fluttering closed in pure bliss. It was so good that she wasn't even going to fuss over the fact that it was half calf and Arizona clearly thought she was pulling one over on her.

Arizona laughed at the look of pure pleasure on her wife's face as she sipped at her iced coffee. "And here I thought I was the only thing that could make you make that face."

"Don't tease." Callie replied as she smiled at the blonde sitting next to her.

"How are you feeling?" Arizona asked as Callie put an arm around her and pulled her closer.

Callie knew that Arizona was asking about more then just her general health. This was the place they came too when they needed to think and talk things out in a neutral environment. "We're two weeks past twenty-three weeks. I'm starting to feeling much better. How about you?"

"I'm still having the nightmares." Arizona said honestly as she turned to look out over the water. There were ground rules for this place. No yelling, listen, and be honest. The first two were a lot easier; honest was hard when you were trying to protect someone.

"Yeah." Callie said as she tightened her hold on her wife. "I know."

Arizona frowned at that and looked back over at Callie. "Have I been waking you?" The look on Callie's face told her, what Callie wouldn't have admitted to otherwise. "Calliope. Why didn't you say something? You need your rest."

"Because you'd start sleeping in the nursery or on the couch." Callie said knowingly. "And I want you in our bed so I can put my arms around you when you wake up from the memories."

"Calliope." Arizona began but was quickly cut off.

"Don't you Calliope me, Arizona." Callie warned in a stern tone. "I get to take care of you too, remember?"

Arizona smiled sheepishly at the memory. "I remember."

Callie smiled warmly, reassuringly at her love. She reached out and traced the places on Arizona's face where all the lacerations had been. "Talk to me, baby. Tell me, get it all out, and I bet the dreams will stop."

It was so easy for Arizona to protect Callie from the bad stuff. It was a natural instinct for her to protect the woman she loved so very much. She was protecting her heart, her soul, not just a beautiful and intelligent woman that made her short of breath with a simple look. The thing that Arizona had to learn was that Callie felt the same way about her. She had to learn to let Callie protected her the same way she tried to protect Callie. It hadn't been easy. Arizona didn't expose her deeper feelings as easily as Callie did, but Callie managed to find a way to get to them anyway. Arizona took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again she looked into the loving and concerned brown eyes of her love, and then told her everything that was on her mind and in her heart.

By the time Arizona was finished they were both in tears. Callie reached out and brushed at the blonde's. "I love you." She said softly before leaning in and kissing Arizona softly.

"I love you too." Arizona replied as she leaned into Callie's touch.

"Are you free for the rest of the afternoon?" Callie asked as she continued to caress Arizona's face and brush at her hair.

"I'm on call." Arizona said. "But I'm not on the schedule."

Callie smiled so sweetly before leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on her wife's lips. "Then we're going home and we're going to take advantage of it being Mark's weekend with Sophie."

Arizona smiled at that. "Sounds good to me."

This time around Arizona and Mark planned the baby shower together, and since Arizona wasn't feeling so insecure and jealous she'd been able to enjoy it a lot more. It still wasn't her most favorite thing in the world, she didn't completely get into it the way Callie did, but she had fun and even let Callie force her into playing the games with a lot less huff then last time. Their friends, their family really, had given them everything they could possibility need for the new baby, and even some stuff for Sophie as well. Addison of course went over board. "Callie, we really need to do something about her."

Callie laughed as she looked at the expensive stroller, car seats, and bags full of clothes and toys Addison had bought them. "Addie is one of the most down to earth Wasps I've ever met, but she's still a Wasp, she's still very old money, and this is how very old money shows affection."

"Addison's a very affectionate person." Arizona replied with a slight frown, not really understanding Callie's point.

"She is with us." Callie said. "And that's because she's learned to be. She wasn't raised to show her emotions. When she first came to Seattle she was kind of coldish, but in time she let a select few of us see her true self. The fact that she and I are friends at all just proves how un-Wasp-y she really is."

Now Arizona really looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Callie had to think about this for a moment and then explained, "My family would be seen as new money, my grandfather and my father were self made men. Addie's family is old money, really old money; they've inherited their fortune and position from the robber barons of the turn of the century and probably even further back then that. Old money and new money, never mix, and a family like Addison's, a family with roots as old as the country it's self, would never mix with a family like mine, who's only been here for few generations."

"So your both kind of like the black sheep?" Arizona asked as they settled into their couch while still going through gifts and taking notes on who sent what so they could send thank you cards.

"Yeah, kind of." Callie said with a nod. "I guess since we didn't really fit into our natural families, not that I'm saying that I don't love my family because I do, but I guess because we are the black sheep we kind of made our own family."

Arizona beamed. "I really like the family you've made for yourself."

"So do I." Callie beamed before leaning in and kissing Arizona deeply.

The two were getting pretty hot and heavy on the couch when they were brought up short by a knock on the door. Callie growled softly as Arizona chuckled and got up to answer it. When she opened the door to their apartment she gasped. "More? Are you kidding me?"

"This is the last of it." Mark said as he and Derek carried in the rest of the stuff from the baby shower.

"Just keep in mind that some of this is meant for Sophie too." Derek said with a knowing smirk.

"Can't have her feeling left out." Meredith said as she carried the sleeping child into the apartment behind her husband and his best friend. "Now can we?"

"That's what you kept saying when you wouldn't let me leave the toy store." Derek chuckled.

As Arizona took Sophie from Meredith Callie looked around at their haul. "So which present has the freakishly, disturbingly, real heart toy and or article of clothing from Yang?"

"Yang's gifts aren't that bad." Derek managed with a straight face.

"Says the man with anatomy diagrams on his bedroom wall." Callie teased.

Derek pointed to a framed x-ray that hung on the living room wall. "You have a chest panel on your wall."

Callie beamed. "Yes, but it's a very sexy chest panel."

"You two are so obnoxiously cute it's sick." Mark teased.

"You're just mad because you didn't think to do something so sweet." Callie replied. The x-ray was of Arizona, which had been a Christmas gift from the blonde to her badass othro surgeon girlfriend, along with one of her pelvis which wasn't on display because of it's less then PG connotations. There was also one of Sophie's first x-ray's framed and hanging on the wall as well. Normal boring people hung pictures, badass rock star othro surgeons hung x-rays.

"We're strange." Meredith said with a soft chuckle.

Callie beamed. "You got that right! Normal is so boring."

The startling green glow of the clock on the cable box in the dark living room read three oh seven a.m. causing Callie to groan in frustration as she and Arizona walked into their apartment. They had just spent the last seven hours over at the hospital because Callie thought she was in labor. She grumbled and mumbled under her breath in both English and Spanish as Arizona lovingly herded her enormous self towards their bedroom. She could tell that the blonde was trying really hard not to laugh, which was just making Callie even grumpier.

"This isn't funny, Arizona!" Callie barked at her wife. "This is the third time in nine days!"

"Braxton-Hicks are normal, Calliope." Arizona said as she walked over to their dresser to get Callie something to sleep in. "You heard Addison. It's sort of a warm up to the main event. It's a way for the uterus to prepare it's self for the real deal."

"It's your child's sick sense of humor!" Callie huffed. She loved being pregnant, feeling the baby grow and move inside her, but about three weeks ago Callie had hit the wall. She was now sick of being a beached whale, a walking incubator; she wanted this kid out and out now. "What the hell is up with your kids Arizona? The first one came way to damn early and now this one's a week late!"

It was becoming harder and harder for Arizona not to laugh. "My kids? Oh, no my love, this one is on you. According to your mother you were four days past your due date."

"Due dates were just a guess back then!" Callie huffed. "It's more of an exact science now."

"You weren't born in the stone age of medicine Calliope." Arizona said soothingly as she set the nightshirt on the bed beside Callie before crouching down to take off her wife's shoes. "Addison said if you don't go into labor for real on your own by the end of the week we'll induce."

Callie sat on the edge of the bed quietly fuming. Then suddenly as Arizona was lifting her shirt up over her head she said, "Lets have sex!"

"What?" Arizona yelped, startled at the sudden shift in mood as well as her wife's request.

"Lets have sex!" Callie said brightly as she looked up at Arizona who was looking down at her shirtless form. "An orgasm will cause contractions!"

Arizona stared down at Callie, at Callie's tan, flawless skin, her milk swelled breasts, the beautiful stretch of her swollen stomach. Callie was a stunningly gorgeous woman, sexy and exotic, and even after all these years could still take Arizona's breath away; but pregnant Callie was damn near mind blowingly hot. "Calliope."

Sensing a victory at hand Callie looked up at Arizona with a flick of her eyebrows and that smirk she knew Arizona found oh so hard to resist. She kept her twinkling brown eyes locked to Arizona's dancing blue ones as she reached out and slipped her hands under Arizona's shirt. She caressed her wife's stomach, let her hands glide over her hips and then pulled her closer as she cupped her bottom.

"Calliope." Arizona breathed out in a hitched voice as her blue eyes fluttered. She automatically wrapped her arms around Callie's neck when she found herself standing between her lover's legs. A little voice in the back of her head was telling her that there was no real proof that sex helped induce labor, it also told her that Callie needed to rest, but sexy pregnant Callie carrying her baby had turned Arizona into the hormonal equivalent of a horny teenage boy. Bailey had banned them from on-call rooms because sexy pregnant Callie was way louder then normal Callie, and Addison still scrunched her nose at the sight of her desk. Arizona lost the ability to think when she felt Callie slowly popping the buttons on her jeans. Leaning down Arizona finally gave in and placed a searing kiss on Callie's eager lips.

"Ok Callie." Addison said as she monitored the dripping IV bag. "It might take a while for the pitocin to kick in so you might as well get comfortable."

"Sounds like we have plenty of time to watch the game." Mark said with smirk as he settled into a chair and flipped on the TV.

Callie glared at him. "I don't want to watch a stupid baseball game I want to have this baby!"

"And you will." Addison said sweetly. "We just need you to be patient for a little while longer. Just bare with us, Callie, and before you know it you'll be holding a beautiful little baby."

Callie turned her glare onto the redhead. "Don't manage me Addison Montgomery!"

"Well it seems that Mommy still has a case of the grumpies." Arizona said from the doorway of Callie's room. She was smiling as she held Sophie in her arms. The sight of which caused Callie to finally smile. "I thought you were going to be nice to Addison?"

"I am being nice." Callie said as she held out her arms for their daughter.

Addison snorted which got her another glare from Callie. "You're all set for now. I'll be back in an hour to check your progress."

Callie huffed and then sighed the moment she had Sophie in her arms. The little girl wrapped her arms around her Mommy's neck and Callie buried her face in the baby's, taking in a deep breath full of her scent. Best tranquilizer ever.

"Where's my baby?" Three-year-old Sophie asked as she settled in beside her Mommy on the bed.

"Still in Mommy's tummy." Arizona answered.

Sophie frowned. She was just as tired of waiting on this baby as her mommies and daddy were. Carefully lifting up the blankets Sophie shouted, "Baby, you come out now!"

Callie couldn't help but laugh. "See that." She pointed to the hanging IV bag above her head. "That's medicine that Aunt Addie is giving me to help the baby come out. We just have to give it a little time to work."

Sophie looked at the bag and ran her gaze down the tube from it to her Mommy's arm. She touched the IV in Callie's arm gently and frowned. "Is it ouchie?"

"No, baby, it doesn't hurt." Callie reassured. She kissed her daughter's forehead and smiled. "Aunt Addie is going to take really good care of me, and Mama and Daddy are going to stay with me while you hang out with Aunt Lexie.

"Wanna stay with you." Sophie said with Arizona's pout on her little lips as she snuggled closer to her mommy. "Wanna stay with my baby."

"I know you do, mija." Callie replied as she rubbed circles on her daughter's back. Sophie had figured out pretty early on that she was a sucker for that pout. She couldn't resist it wither it from the three-year-old or the grown woman she learned it from. "But you're going to have so much fun with Aunt Lexie. It's going to be pretty boring here because I'm going to do is lay here while the medicine works."

Arizona smiled as she came over and sat on the bed with them. "I heard Uncle Derek say something about lunch at the duckie pound. Wouldn't you rather go play with Chris at the park?"

The little girl actually looked like she was thinking it over. "Ok, but Daddy come too."

Mark was about to protest when Callie said, "We have hours Mark. Go have lunch with your daughter and your best friend and your godson."

"Are you sure?" Mark asked as he rose to his feet.

"I'm positive." Callie replied.

Mark nodded, still feeling a little unsure about leaving, but walked over and picked Sophie up in his arms.

One of the problems with inducing labor is that the medication used intensifies the pain. If medication is used to ease the pain, that medication counteracts the first medication, which then slows labor, which means the first has to be given again. Callie really wanted to avoid this cycle of drugs more drugs, she wanted this done and over with. She wanted her baby in her arms; she wanted to finally meet him or her in person. So she opted not to have pain meds, which meant she was in a lot of pain.

"You're doing great, Callie." Addison reassured as she examined Callie's progress. "We're almost there."

"It won't be long now, sweetheart." Arizona said soothingly from her position behind Callie. She had her arms and legs wrapped around Callie, supporting her. It was killing her to see Callie in so much pain, but at the same time she was marveling at how Callie was handling it. Callie had endured so much to give her two amazing children, and Arizona wasn't sure if she would ever be able to thank her, though she would spend the rest of their lives trying.

"If we ever do this again you're doing this part!" Callie grunted as she squeezed Arizona's hands.

As the baby became visible to Addison the strongest contraction yet ripped through Callie's body and she let loose with a long, angry, flurry of Spanish that neither Addison or Arizona could understand, but it still caused them both to blush.

"What was that?" Addison asked Arizona.

"I have no idea." Arizona replied as she looked over Callie to the redhead between her lover's legs.

"You two have been together how long and you still can't speak Spanish?" Addison asked.

Arizona looked sheepish. "I know a little! But none of whatever she just said."

"I thought the first thing you learned from a native speaker were the bad words?" Addison asked. "I'm pretty sure those were some pretty bad words."

Arizona blushed. "We skipped swearing and went right to talking dirty and pillow talk."

Callie grunted and groaned. "You are so never touching me again so you don't have to worry about talking dirty to me in any language."

Blue eyes danced with amusement. "I'm not?"

"No." Callie hissed.

"Why?" Arizona couldn't help herself.

"Because you and Mark Fucking Sloan knocked me up!" Callie barked as another contraction hit.

The sky outside Callie's window was just turning from early morning gray to a rosy pink as Addison handed Arizona the surgical scissors to cut the umbilical cord. The room was filled with the strong cry of the tiny human who just went through the huge ordeal of being born. Tears welled in Arizona's eyes as she watched the redhead quickly wrapped the baby in a receiving blanket and then place her in her arms. The moment the baby was in her arms, she stopped wailing, but was still a little fussy. She was absolutely gorgeous. "Oh Calliope." She breathed softly as she took their daughter over to her exhausted mother. "She's so beautiful."

She'd missed this moment the first time so Callie was soaking it all in as Arizona placed their just born daughter on her chest. Tears of pain and fatigue were instantly replaced with tears of joy and happiness. Reaching out a hand Callie caressed the blood and fluid covered skin of her daughter who stopped fussing the moment Callie touched her. She stared at her beautiful baby girl for several long moments before turning her tear glistening brown eyes up to Arizona's glittering blue ones. "Thank you."

"Me?" Arizona said as she brushed at Callie's tears. "You did all the work."

"You gave me her." Callie said in a soft, horse voice. "You entrusted me to carry her and to bring her into the world. She's absolutely magnificent, Arizona."

Arizona beamed. Leaning over she kissed Callie softly, their lips lingering in the moment, before pulling a way. Then she placed a gentle kiss on their daughter's head. "We have the two most amazing daughters in the world, two beautiful little girls. Oh, Calliope, I should be the one thanking you. You nurtured this dream for the both of us for so long. If it weren't for you, if you hadn't convinced me that I would be a good mother, shown me the truth about wanting this." It physically hurt to think about what could have been instead of what was. "I love you."

"I love you." Callie replied before their lips met again.

Their friends and their family sat in the first two rows of pews at the small Episcopal church that Callie had been attending since leaving the Catholic church, when she bothered to attend at all. Father Tomas stood behind a basin of holy water with Arizona and Callie to his right and Addison and Alex Karev on his left. A lot of people questioned Arizona's choice in godfather, but she knew a side of Karev that many didn't get to see, and she would ever forget how he had been there for her after the accident. Standing there with her fingers laced with Callie's, watching as Addison held their newborn daughter as Father Tomas begin the christening rite, seeing their oldest daughter sitting on her daddy's lap in the front row beaming because she'd really wanted a baby sister and had gotten one, Arizona felt her heart swell to the point of rupture. All those years ago when she'd accepted Chief Webber's offer to head up the surgical peds department at Seattle Grace she never ever saw her life turning out like this. On that fateful night when she suddenly decided to follow this beautiful, curvy, sexy Latina woman who looked so sad, who's big brown tear filled eyes tugged at her heart, into the bathroom at Joe's, she had no idea that that spontaneous kiss would lead her here, to this moment, to this place in her life.

Callie glanced over at her wife and could see the play of emotion in those deep sapphire eyes. She could completely understand what she was seeing because she was feeling it as well. When she'd come to Seattle, she'd come to start a new life, her own life. She'd hit a lot of snags, tripped and fell more times then she'd like to admit, but every thorn, ever stumble had brought her to this very moment so it was all well worth it. Standing in the same church where she and Arizona had been married, watching as Father Tomas who had not only married them but come to the hospital to christen Sophie, Callie finally felt that sense of peace that her mother had always talked about but she could never understand. She felt for the first time in her life, satisfied with her life. This, this is what love feels like.

"Who presents this child to receive the Holy Sacrament of baptism?" Father Tomas asks, bringing both mothers out of their internal thoughts.

"Alex and I do." Addison replies with a bright smile as she gently bounced to keep the baby calm.

Father Tomas turned towards Arizona and Callie as he asked, "Does the child have a name?"

Arizona beamed while she let Callie answer because she loved the way Callie pronounced their daughter's name. "Josephine Daniela Robbins-Torres."


	4. Age Four: Big Stubborn Hearts

Several of the doctors of Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital stood at the end of the skylight walkway staring at the figures at the center of the bridge. A small girl of four years stood ramrod straight with her little arms crossed over her chest and a very determined look on her angelic face. Her long dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a braid that took her mommy an hour to do that morning because she wouldn't sit still. The look in her dark blue eyes was one of pure determination. It was the same look that the raven-haired woman crouched in front of her had in her own big brown eyes. The two simply stared at each other in silence, patiently waiting for the other one to crack. Though they shared no physical resemblance, other then a natural tan hue to their skin, the mannerisms and expressions were identical. The little girl even had the sleeves of her shirt pushed up to her elbows just like the woman did.

"What are you people doing?" Doctor Miranda Bailey asked the group of younger doctors as they stood there watching the mother and daughter stare each other down.

"Watching a battle of wills between Torres and Tiny Torres." Alex Karev replied with a lopsided grin.

The tall pretty eyed young doctor standing next to him added, "My money's on Torres."

Karev shook his head. "No way. Josie will wear her down."

"Twenty bucks says the kid breaks before Torres." Avery said as he held out his hand to the slightly older man.

Bailey just shook her head at Karev and Avery as she watched Callie Robbins-Torres and her four-year-old daughter Josephine battle it out on the walkway. She tried not to look amused, but she had to admit that watching badass Callie Torres in a battle of wills with a four-year-old was entertaining.

"You're on." Karev said as he shook Avery's hand.

Callie continued to stare down her daughter totally unaware of their audience. "Josephine Daniela." She said in a warning tone, hoping that her stern mom voice would cause the little girl to weaver. "We're going to be late for lunch with Mama." Her daughter continued to glare at her, her tiny little nostrils flaring in a way that reminded Callie of her wife. Callie really, really wanted to laugh.

"Do you think someone should like interrupt or something?" April Kepner asked as the silent battle continued. She glanced around at the people passing them on the walkway, unsure of what to do.

"No." Bailey said with a slight shake of her head. "They need to finish this."

"Finish what?" Arizona Robbins-Torres asked as she came up behind the gathering of her friends and collogues. She looked over Bailey's head to see her wife and their youngest daughter in the middle of the walkway staring each other down. She blinked eyes the same color as the little girls and shook her head. "What happened?"

"Doctor Torres told her no." Kepner explained. "I don't know about what, they were speaking in Spanish, but I know Doctor Torres said no, and then Josie just stopped walking and hasn't moved since."

"She's gotta give in sooner or later." Avery offered up. "She's just a kid. Kids always give in, don't they?"

The two mothers in the group, Arizona and Bailey, gave Avery a look that said he was clearly clueless in the matters of children.

Karev snorted. "You don't know Josie very well."

Arizona smiled brightly, a knowing look on her face as she teased her young colleague. "Just because you give in to her, Karev, doesn't mean Callie and I do."

Bailey laughed softly. "Face it Karev, you have a soft spot for that little girl and she has you wrapped around her little finger." In all honesty the child had just about everyone wrapped around her little fingers. Even Miranda Bailey, formally known as the Nazi, found it hard to resist those deep sapphire eyes and that Torres smirk.

"Easiest twenty bucks I ever made." Avery teased as he noticed Josie shift her weight from her left foot to her right.

The brash young peds surgeon shook his head. "Not a chance. You're the one totally coughing up twenty bucks."

Arizona put her hands on her hips and looked at the young men with a very disapproving motherly look. "You're betting on which one is going to cave first?"

"Yeap." Karev told his mentor honestly as he fished a bag of chips out of the pocket of his lab coat. He'd learned years ago to always have snacks on him because you just never knew what was going to go down in this place.

Bright blue eyes rolled as Arizona tucked a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear. She returned her attention to the scene unfolding before them. In the last several weeks their four year old had been testing her boundaries, and even though she and Callie had been flexible they were still making it very clear that there were indeed limits. She smiled softly when she saw the first tell tail sign of Josie's weakening resolve. The little girl's bottom lip began to quiver ever so slightly. "Get ready to pay the man, Karev."

"What?" Her young protégé said with a shake of his head. "No way. How can you tell?"

"I'm her mother." Arizona said with pride. "I know her."

Sure enough a few seconds after the lip began to quiver Josie dropped her head and her little shoulders slumped. Arizona watched as Callie scooped their daughter up in her arms and whispered softly in her ear as the little girl put her head on her mommy's shoulder. She chuckled as Karev forked over twenty bucks while she walked away from the group and over to her wife and their little girl. "Everything alright?"

Callie smiled warmly at the beautiful blonde she shared her life with, while she rubbed soothing circles on their baby's back. "Yeah, everything's fine, right mija?"

Josie nodded before tucking her face into her mommy's neck.

The bashful, chided look on her little girl's face melted Arizona's heart. She fell in love with the little girl over and over on a daily basis. "What happened?"

"She wanted to go to the park after lunch." Callie said as they began walking towards the doors. "When I told her we couldn't she decided to take a stand, literately, right in the middle of the bridge."

"And so began the epic battle of Torres wills." Arizona said with a chuckle. When Callie gave her a questioning look Arizona laughed. "You were gaining quite the audience. Karev and Avery even had money on it."

Callie rolled her eyes and shook her head as she softly chuckled. Both of their girls were well known around the hospital. It almost seemed as if everyone in the place knew Sophie and Josie Robbins-Torres, so it wasn't unusual to have someone nether Callie nor Arizona knew say hi in passing. It was both endearing and a little creepy. Callie carried Josie down to the cafeteria, whispering softly to her in Spanish because Josie was the type of kid who took getting into even a tiny amount of trouble to heart, and then put her down between herself and Arizona so she'd have her hands free to gather their lunch. She smiled when she saw Josie automatically grab hold of Arizona's hand, her tiny thumb absentmindedly rubbing Arizona's wedding band. "What would you like for lunch, mija?"

"Fluffer-nutter please." Josie replied as she rose up on her tiptoes to see.

"I don't think they make those, baby." Arizona said as she tried hard not to grimace at the overly sweet peanut butter and marshmallow cream sandwiches Mark liked to make for their daughters. "I think those are something special that only Daddy makes."

Josie pouted for a moment and then said to no one's great surprise, "Chicken fingers."

"She's going to turn into a chicken finger." Callie laughed. With a tray loaded down with two salads, a plate of chicken fingers and carrot sticks, two coffees and a bottle of milk Callie walked over to an empty table with her family.

Once Josie was settled with her lunch Arizona looked up at Callie. "Mark said he'd pick up Sophie since he doesn't have any surgeries this afternoon. He'll bring her up to peds until I'm finished."

"Good." Callie replied. "I have two knee replacements and then we have that scoliosis surgery this afternoon." Despite how much she'd wanted a family it still shocked Callie at how everything had worked out. She and Arizona were married and had two beautiful daughters. They still had their ups and downs of course but even when they were fighting about something she was in heaven. The totally badass ortho surgeon was blissfully, domestically happy.

"Ally said she'd look after Josie since the daycare closed early today." Arizona said with a nod after Callie was finished. "I have an eleven year old with liver damage and then I'll meet you for your surgery."

While her moms talked about boring grown up doctor stuff Josie munched on a mustard and hot sauce covered chicken finger while looking around the bright and open cafeteria. She liked coming to the hospital and she liked it even better when she wasn't stuck in daycare. She loved to explore and she loved being around all the grown ups in her life. Daycare was boring; the grown-ups had all the fun. As Josie continued to absentmindedly eat her lunch and contemplate the things that four-year-old's contemplate, she spotted the Chief and his wife. Josie's face lit up as she jumped out of her chair and took off before her mothers could stop her. She ran right up to Chief Webber and his wife and threw herself at the man. "Hi Chief! Hi Mrs. Chief!"

Chief Webber chuckled as he caught the girl easily and held her in his arms. "Hi Josie."

Adele was having a good day and the sudden appearance of a Seattle Grace child made it better. She was slipping more and more these days into the depths of her Alzheimer's, and good days were few and far between, but for some reason the children of her husband's surgeons always brought her back to the here and now. "Hello Miss Josie. Don't you look lovely today."

Josie hugged the Chief tight around the neck and planted a kiss on his cheek before reaching for Adele who happily took the child into her arms. Josie didn't know what was wrong with the older woman, but she knew something was, and she knew that Mrs. Chief always felt better after a hug. She wrapped her arms around the woman's neck and gave her one of her best hugs before place a gentle kiss on her dark, round cheek.

"Josephine!" Both Callie and Arizona called out when their daughter sprung to her feet and propelled herself at the Chief. They both came over to the Webbers with apologetic looks on their faces. They knew that Adele had had an appointment with Derek today and they didn't want their four year old intruding.

"I'm so sorry, Chief, Mrs. Webber." Callie apologized. "Josephine, you know better then to dive bomb people like that, and you know it's rude to intrude on people that way."

"It's alright, Callie." Adele said with a huge beaming smile as she continued to hold the little girl whose arms were wrapped around her neck. "I don't mind one bit. I loving seeing the children, they bring such life this stuffy old place."

Josie had the sweetest look on her face as she said, "I'm having chicken fingers, Mrs. Chief, and Mama said if I finished them and my carrots I could have a cookie. Would you like to share my cookie?"

"Well, aren't you the sweetest thing on Earth." Adele gushed as she returned the child's happy smile.

Chief Webber, Callie and Arizona watched as Adele carried Josie back over to the table they'd been sitting at. Adele sat with Josie and they talked and laughed, and Chief Webber smiled sadly. "It's been a long time since I've seen her smile like that."

Neither Callie nor Arizona knew what to say to the man. He was watching his wife sink further and further into a disease that would end up taking her from him, the same disease that took the only other woman he'd ever loved from him. He'd watched Ellis Grey's final days and here he was looking at going through that for a second time. Arizona put a comforting hand on the man's arm as she took Callie's hand with her other. Neither woman could imagine what it must be like to face something like that. And they both prayed hard that they never would have to know.

After their spontaneous visit with the Chief and his wife, Callie headed up to the surgical floor while Arizona and Josie headed up to peds. "I want you to be a good girl for Nurse Ally, Josie."

Josie rolled her eyes. "I'm always a good girl, Mama."

"I'm just reminding you." Arizona replied as she tapped her baby's nose with her index finger. "When Daddy drops Sissy off why don't you two decided what you would like for dinner and we'll make Mommy take us all out."

"Yay!" Josie cheered. She loved going out to eat. She loved showing everyone what a big grown up girl she could be. And she really loved spending time with her moms and her big sister.

As they neared the nurse's station a tired looking woman walked up to them. "Excuse me, Doctor Robbins, I know you're busy but do you have a minute?"

Arizona gave the woman a soft smile. "Of course Mrs. Gordon." She turned towards one of the nurses. "Ally, would you mind?"

"Of course not Doctor Robbins." The young nurse said as she came out from behind the desk. She smiled and held out her hand to Josie. "Come on, Josie. You can help me sort band-aides, and then I have an extra special cartoon just for you to watch."

"Bye Mama!" Josie waved after taking Ally's hand. "Be a rock star!"

Arizona chuckled to herself softly. From the time the girls were little whenever Arizona went off to work Callie would tell them to tell her to be a rock star. She gave herself a few more seconds to smile happily before turning back to Billy Gordon's mother. As she faced the woman she had a flash of guilt. Her beautiful baby girls were healthy and happy, while this woman's son laid in isolation while waiting on a bone marrow transplant.

"Was that your little girl?" Mrs. Gordon asked as she watched the child walk off with the nurse.

"Sure is, she's my youngest." Arizona said as she took the woman aside so they could talk privately. Seven years after the birth of Sophie and Arizona still got a little thrill when she told people about her children.

Sorting band-aides was fun for about ten minutes and left Josie with one of each kind going up both her arms. She'd explained to Nurse Ally that they needed to test them, to make sure they stuck really good on little kid skin, and to make sure they looked cool. The extra special cartoon that Nurse Ally had for her was Josie and the Pussycats. She'd said that it was a cartoon that was on TV when she and her moms were little girls. Josie liked the idea of watching cartoons her moms would have watched, she and her dad watched Scooby Doo and Huckleberry Hound together. Josie liked the cartoon and stayed in her Mama's office for one whole hour before she started to get bored. Her Mama had come in before the second cartoon started to tell her she was going up to surgery and that she and Mommy would check in on her before they went into the surgery they were doing together. A few minutes after that her Dad and her sister walked in.

"Daddy!" Josie squealed as she launched herself at Mark.

He laughed as he scooped her up and hugged her. "There's my baby Sloan."

Josie gave her dad a stern look, one that really made her look like Arizona. They'd had this conversation before. "I'm not a Sloan, Daddy, I'm a Torres."

"We are Sloans, Josie." Sophie told her sister as she tried to wrestle her backpack off her shoulders. "We're Robbins too."

Because of Mark the girls looked enough alike that you could tell they were sisters, but they each favored their biological mothers enough to make people have to look twice. Sophie had Callie's raven hair and her cute little nose. She had Mark's blue eyes and his chin, and somehow she'd managed to get Arizona's dimples. Or at least that's what Callie liked to think. Just like she liked to think that her DNA somehow snuck in to give Josie a bit more color to her skin then she should have had with Mark and Arizona's genetics. Josie on the other hand, had dirty blonde hair, most of Arizona's facial features, and Arizona's shade of blue in her eyes. From Mark she'd gotten her height, she was slightly taller then most four year olds, his ears, and the general shape of her face.

"I know." Josie said with a roll of her eyes as she lightly scratched at the scruff on her dad's face. She loved the scruff on her dad's face; it was one of her favorite things to touch and feel. It was comforting to her the way playing with her moms hair was. He'd shaved a couple of time over her four years of life and each time she was so mad at him she refused to be held by him. "But Mama says I'm sunburned like a Torres."

Mark snorted out a chuckle. "I think you mean stubborn."

"That's what I said." Josie huffed. She giggled as she watched her sister continue to dance and wiggle out of her backpack and then turned to look at her dad when the entrainment was over. "Daddy guess what!"

"What?" Mark asked as he bounced his baby girl in his arms.

"There's a cartoon called Josie! Just like me!" She pointed to the portable DVD player on Arizona's desk.

Mark smiled. "I remember that one."

"Daddy!" Josie said in shock. "It's a girl cartoon! You watched girl cartoons?"

"Didn't say I watched it." Mark pointed out. "Just that I remember it." He kissed her cheek and set her down in Arizona's chair before turning to look at Sophie. "Do you need help with your homework, Soph?"

Sophie shook her head. "I can do it."

"Ok." Mark said with a knowing smirk. Sophie had just an independent streak. She always wanted to at least try someone all by herself before she'd let anyone help her. That streak had been pretty funny when she'd been learning to walk because she'd get so pissed off when she'd fall onto her little diaper-cushioned butt. But on the other hand, though she was very self-independent, she adored helping her baby sister even when Josie didn't want her help. Now that Mark thought about it she was kind of like a tiny little control freak, just like Robbins. "But if you need help just ask."

Between surgeries Arizona and Callie had come down to check in. Josie informed them of her very importance need for cat ears and a tail, while Sophie filled them in on the playground gossip. After they left, Mark continued to hung out with his girls until he got a 911 page to the ER. Sophie settled into the small sofa in the office to read, and Josie had quickly grown bored with coloring by herself. Josie knew not to bother her sister when she was doing homework so she decided to give her big sister some peace. Stepping out of her mama's office she decided to explore the floor a little. She ended up in the room of another four year old, a little boy who looked kind of sad so Josie decided she was going to cheer him up

"Hi." Josie said as she walked over to the bed the boy was in.

"Hi." The boy replied.

"I'm Josie." Josie told him as she climbed up onto his bed carefully because he had an IV and wires and stuff. "What's your name?"

"Colt." The boy answered. "Are you sick too? You have lots of band-aides on your arms."

Josie shook her head, which caused her braid to swing. "No, I'm not sick. I'm the band-aide tester."

"Oh." Colt said softly. "I am. I have a tumor in my tummy. The doctor lady is going to fix me though. I like the Batman band-aide"

"Which doctor lady?" Josie asked as she fished around in the pocket of her jeans until she pulled out a Batman band-aide, which she gave to Colt.

"Doctor Robbins." Colt replied as he smiled at the small gift.

Josie beamed and bounced lightly on the bed. "That my Mama!"

"Is your Mama good at fixing things?" Colt asked.

Josie could see that Colt was scared so she did something she'd seen her mothers do, she reached out and held his hand. "She's the bestest ever. She's helping my Mommy fix someone's back right now, and when my sister was a tiny tiny baby she fixed her too."

"Cool." Colt replied with a small smile. "I have a brother. His name is Payton."

"My sister's name is Sophie. She's seven. She goes to school and she's smart." Josie explained.

The two four year olds talked and played with Colt's cars for half an hour before Ally finally found Josie in his room. She stood in the doorway and listened to Josie and Colt talk about their pets. Colt apparently had a turtle named Kate. "A turtle would be cool!" Josie said brightly. "Sissy and I have a fish. His name is Jack. I want a penguin but my Mommy says that they're not pets, but I bet if I asked my Abuelo for a penguin he'd get it for me. I'm his little princesa."

"What's an abello?" Colt asked.

"Abuelo." Josie corrected. "That says grandpa in Spanish, and that's what I call my grandpa Carlos, cause he's Latino. Grandpa Dan isn't so he's just Grandpa."

Ally let the two chatter for a for more minutes before saying, "Josie, your moms will be here soon. We'd better get you back to your Mama's office."

Josie pouted but didn't protest. "Ok." She said to Ally before climbing down from Colt's bed. She looked up at the boy and smiled. "Don't be scared Colt. It'll be ok. My Mama makes everything ok."

When Arizona and Callie finally got out of surgery they headed right for Arizona's office. When they got there they found Josie napping and Sophie playing a game with Teddy. The blonde cardiologist smiled when her friends came into the room. When Ally saw them she came over and told them everything went well, and all about Josie's visit with Colt. She knew that Arizona would be glad to know the little boy was in better spirits. Once they were alone with their girls Callie started to gently wake Josie from her nap. "It's kind of late for a nap. I hope this doesn't mean she'd going to be hard to put down tonight."

"I know." Arizona moaned softly as she thought about a late night with their four year old. Then she turned and smiled at Sophie who was cleaning up her things and putting her stuff in her backpack. "Did you and Josie decide where to go for diner?"

"Come on, mija, time to wake up." Callie said gently as she nuzzled Josie's cheek with her nose.

Sophie flashed a bright smile. "The ferry dinner."

Arizona chuckled. "Of course, we should have known that."

Josie moaned softly. "Wanna see the ferries."

That night after the girls were tucked into bed Arizona sat on the couch in their living room staring at the fire in the fireplace. Taking a page from Derek and Meredith, she and Callie had decided to build their dream home. They'd started planning just after Josie's first birthday, and moved in six months ago. Even though it still felt so new to them all, it had instantly felt like home. The moment she walked through the front door Arizona always felt like she could breath again, no matter how bad her day had been. She also felt as if their home allowed her to think about things a little easier, and right now she was thinking about her girls. The whole time Josie was in the bath she'd chattered about her new friend Colt and how she just knew that her Mama would be able to make him all better. She was proud of Josie for seeing another child in need and helping that child out, but another part of her wondered if allowing her daughters anywhere near her patients was a good idea. Colt had a very good chance of recovery, but what if Josie had made friends with a child who didn't? She didn't want either of her girls exposed to the ramifications that came with connecting with a terminal child. Was that selfish?

"What's on your mind, baby?" Callie asked as she sat beside Arizona on the couch and then handed her a glass of wine. "You're a million miles away."

Arizona accepted the glass and smiled warmly at her wife as Callie pulled a throw over their laps. She took a sip of her wine and then shifted so she could snuggle into Callie's side as her love wrapped an arm around her. "I was just thinking about what Ally said about Josie and Colt Anderson. I'm not sure how I feel about the girls being around my kids. I don't want to explain death to our baby, Callie. I want to spare her and Sophie from that for as long as we can. But both of the girls love being at the hospital and what Josie did, making Colt feel better, that was so amazingly sweet."

"Our girls have big hearts, Arizona." Callie said as she squeezed her wife with the arm she had around her. "I want to protect them just as much as you do, but that's not going to be easy. They're both naturally companionate, just like their Mama."

"They get those big hearts from you." Arizona replied as she looked up into her love's big brown eyes.

Those big eyes flashed with emotion as Callie thought of a memory. "I was a little older then Sophie when my Aunt Carlotta died. She was my grandmother's youngest sister and I adored her. It was hard for me to comprehend the permanence of death, I didn't understand that until much later, but I understood I missed her and that now something was missing. My parents were there for me. They held me when I needed to be held, they answered my questions the best they could when I asked them, and they left me alone when I needed a minute to sort it all out." Callie paused so she could place a kiss on Arizona's temple. "Death isn't something we can hide from, baby, we know that, you know that better then most. All we can do is be there for our girls when they're finally forced to face it."

Arizona sighed as she snuggled into Callie as if the other woman could ward off all her dark thoughts for her. "I know that they'll have to face it sooner or later, and I'm dreading that because there's a loss of innocence that comes with that knowledge that I don't want them to loose. If it came down to sparing my child that kind of pain and easing the pain of another child, I'd choose to protect mine every time. Is that selfish?"

"No." Callie said as she held tightly to the woman she loved. The woman who swore up and down she'd be an awful mother; the woman who turned out to be such a wonderful mother. "That's being a good mom. It's our job to protect them from all the shit in the world for as long as we can. As doctors it's our job to look out for what's best for patients, but we're doctors third to being mothers and being wives. Wanting to protect our girls doesn't make you less of a doctor."

Arizona was a little surprise that Callie had picked up on that part of what she was feeling but she shouldn't have been. "I love you, Calliope. I love you and our girls and our life."

"I love you too." Callie replied before leaning in and kissing Arizona with all that love.


	5. Age Seven: Scary Firsts

The problem with brand new interns was that they didn't know all the ins and outs of Seattle Grace – Mercy West's social structure. They knew the basics of course. They knew that the ER was Doctor Own Hunt's domain, they knew to ask how high when Doctor Miranda Bailey said jump, and they knew that when certain injuries came into the ER they needed to call for certain attendings. It had been a really busy day in the ER, three ambulances came in one after the other in a twenty minute period. The first two were the worse traumas, which meant Hunt and Bailey had taken those. The third had a seven-year-old girl who fell out of a tree. As soon as the back doors of the ambulance swung open the EMT started calling out information on the little girl's stats. The little girl was lying on a stretcher with her left arm tucked close to her body and tear tracks down her cheeks. A younger woman and another little girl got out of the ambulance as well and followed them in as the interns listened to the EMT report.

"She lost conscious for a few minutes before we arrived." The EMT reported. "She's been alert and responsive on the ride over."

"How long was she out?" One of the young doctors asked.

The young woman who was standing near the bed shook her head. "I don't know, I heard her scream and ran out to the yard, she was out when I got to her but woke up a few minutes later."

"Someone call Peds!" One of the three called out.

"We're going to need Ortho." The young man looking at the little girl's arm called out.

Doctor Callie Robbins-Torres was just coming out of the scrub room when her pager went off. Looking down she saw a 911 to the ER. She groaned loudly as she pulled off her scrub cap and headed for the elevator. She'd just spent seven hours in back to back surgeries with barely enough time in between to gulp down a cup of coffee, an energy bar and to pee. What she had really wanted to do was to find her wife and see if they could find a few minutes to have something to eat together. As the elevator descended towards the first floor of the hospital she hoped this was something simple because she just didn't want to be extreme right now, and yet if it were something simple she was going to hurt some interns.

Arizona Robbins-Torres, head of Pediatric surgery, couldn't help but smile when the elevator doors opened. Her beautiful wife was standing against the back wall with her head tilted back and her eyes closed. Stepping in she moved in close, her smile brightening when Callie's pissed off look melted into a tired smile of her own. As soon as the doors dinged closed behind them Arizona leaned in and kissed Callie, her hands getting lost in her wife's waves of raven hair.

Callie moaned softly and when the kiss ended her smile was more genuine. "You may have just saved an intern's life."

"Oh?" Arizona asked as she caressed Callie's bottom lip with her thumb. "How did I do that?"

"Like this." Callie said before bringing the blonde close enough to kiss again.

The good mood that both women were in from their brief moments alone in the elevator evaporated the moment they stepped into the ER. As soon as the group of interns, three in all, saw them they rushed over and started filling them in. "Seven year old female fell out of a tree. Her left arm is most likely broken and her mom says she was unconscious for several minutes."

Just as the young man said the last part he pulled the curtain aside. The young woman heard what he said before she saw Callie and Arizona. "I'm not her mother."

You could see the uncertainty wash over the young doctor's face. Could they treat a child without parental consent? "You're not?"

The young woman shook her head. "No." When she spotted Callie and Arizona she pointed to them. "They are."

"Oh my god!" Callie gasped. "Josie?"

Josie had been trying so hard to keep it together. She cried when the ambulance showed up and as the EMT checked out her arm, but once she was inside the ambulance she tired to think more about how cool it was to be in an ambulance and not about how much her arm hurt and how scared she was. Any control she had flew out the window the moment she saw her mothers. "Mommy! Mama!"

Arizona rushed to one side of the bed and Callie the other. "What happened?" Arizona asked as she very carefully took her baby in her arms.

"I hurt my arm!" Josie cried as she looked up at her mommy with those big blue watery eyes. She was giving Callie the look that said fix it!

"She fell out of the tree in the back yard." Maria, their babysitter explained. The young woman looked pale and panicked.

While Callie was getting the story about what happened Arizona looked at the interns. "Lets get her down to x-ray," She listened to Maria explain that she heard Josie scream and that when she got out to her she was unconscious. The young woman hadn't seen Josie climb the tree and had no idea how far she'd fallen. She listened to Callie as Callie asked Josie if anything else hurt. Josie said she wasn't sure, that her arm hurt to bad to focus. "Lets get a head and body CT while we have her down there."

The interns looked a little unsure. Should Robbins be ordering tests if this was her child? Robbins had a child? Robbins had a child with Torres? Despite the fact that they both had Robbins-Torres embroidered on their lab coats, both women still mainly used their maiden names professionally. Since they were first years and didn't know about the complex personal entanglements of the attendings and residents, they'd had no clue Robbins and Torres were married.

"Oh for God's sake!" Arizona barked as she snatched the chart from Doctor Martinez who was looking at Callie as if his heart were broken. Then she waved over one of the nurses and repeated her orders as she filled out the proper forms for the tests.

Callie continued to comfort Josie, gently examining her daughter's arm while she did so. Yeah, it was broken. She just hoped it was a clean break, that it wouldn't need to be set or surgery. Looking up from her daughter to the interns she barked, "You two can move on. There are other people waiting and other doctors who need your help. You, the pale sparkly vampire wannabe, you had in interest in Orthro, you can stay." Then she looked up at the nurse. "Lets get her something mild for the pain until we're sure what we're dealing with, and something to clean up these abrasions."

The nurse nodded. "Yes Doctor Torres."

"Mama?" Sophie said when things seemed to be settling down. "Is Josie ok?"

Arizona gave her eldest daughter a warm reassuring smile as she pulled the girl into a hug. "I'm sure everything's going to be fine, sweetie. Josie's arm is probably broken, and Mommy's going to see to that, everything else is just a precaution. We're not sure how far Josie fell or how hard she landed, so we're going to make sure she isn't hurt on the inside."

"What if she is hurt on the inside?" Sophie asked with fear and concern in her crystal blue eyes.

"Then I will take care of it." Arizona promised.

Sophie nodded. Knowing that her mothers had this under control made her feel a lot better.

Maria looked like she was going to be sick. "Doctor Robbins, Doctor Torres, I'm so so sorry. I didn't know she was climbing trees. She wanted to go out back and practice with her soccer ball while I helped Sophie with her diorama."

"It's alright, Maria." Arizona said as she continued to cuddle Sophie, and hold Josie's hand. "She's been eyeing the tree closest to the house for weeks."

"Mommy told you not to, Josie." Sophie told her sister while giving her a look their mothers had given her on occasion. Her fear and worry were coming out as anger. "She said she didn't want you climbing trees because you could fall out and break something, and that's just what you did!"

Josie glared at her older sister as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. "Shut up, Soph!"

"Knock it off you two." Callie warned. She took it as a good sign that Josie could argue with her sister. She wasn't sure exactly how she was keeping it together, seeing her baby girl laying on the gurney with her busted arm held protectively to her body was killing her. The girls had never been seriously injured before. They both had pneumonia two years ago; Sophie had to be hospitalized because of it, but other then that, Josie's tendency towards ear infections, and chicken pox they hadn't had more then a cold, or a skinned knee. Looking up from their daughter to Arizona, Callie could tell that her wife was having the same internal battle to keep calm and focused for the girls. Snapping into doctor mode was helping. Doctor Torres was helping to keep Callie focused and calm. When the orderly came to take Josie down to radiology Callie insisted on going as well.

Arizona wanted to go too but knew that Sophie needed her just as much as Josie did. Pulling the girl to her, Arizona hugged her tight. Her chest felt so tight and her stomach so twisted that Arizona was in physical pain. As a surgeon she'd seen kids in far worse condition, but that was her baby girl that was hurt. Her little girl who looked so small and fragile on that gurney with her dirty blonde hair sprawled out over the stark whiteness of the hard hospital pillow, who's bright, deep sapphire eyes showed the fear she tried so hard not to show. Her little girl who reminded her so much of Calliope in so many wonderful ways, she had Callie's big heart, and her drive to carve out her place in the world and love every minute of doing it. Both of her girls had Callie's rock the world attitude. Sophie liked to take the bull by the horns, but Josie; Josie liked to take the bull by the horns and then poke him with a sharp pointy stick in the balls. Callie had told her about what her father had said to her about being the little girl climbing on the railing of a bridge and how he felt it was his job to catch her. Arizona knew excitedly what Carlos had meant. Josie didn't just climb onto the railing she danced on it.

Sophie could tell her mama was frightened, she could feel the tension coiling in her body as she held to her. Her moms were doctors, they knew about all the bad stuff that could happen to them so they tended to be a little more overprotective then most parents, but they were also moms who'd started their parental career living through every parent's worse nightmare. For this reason both she and Josie gave them a little more slack then most kids would give. "Mommy's got this." She said looking up into her Mama's pretty blue eyes. "She's the best."

Arizona smiled down at her little girl, who was hugging her as if she were trying to make everything ok. Arizona's smile brightened. Sophie got that from Callie. If Callie could hug away a problem she would, if she couldn't she'd at least try.

When Miranda Bailey came out of the trauma room on the other side of the ER her gaze caught Arizona and Sophie as if it were drawn to them. She knew Arizona well enough to know something was wrong. "Arizona? What's going on?"

It was Sophie who answered. "My stupid sister fell out of a stupid tree like a stupid drunk monkey."

"Sophie Grace!" Arizona scolded. "Stop calling your sister stupid." She watched her daughter's face for a moment before turning to Bailey. "Josie feel out of the tree in our back yard. She was brought in a few minutes ago via ambulance. Callie's down in radiology with her now."

"How big is this tree?" Miranda asked in a tone of voice that showed concern.

"If it's the one she's been eyeing, it's a fairly old pine with lower branches that makes it easy to get into." Arizona explained. "We have no idea how high up she was when she fell. We're running CTs just be sure." Arizona let out a shaky breath as she began to tremble. "We should have cut that damn tree down when we cleared the land, but we didn't want to spoil any more of the space then we needed for the house."

Bailey reached out and put her hand on Arizona's arm. "This isn't your fault, Arizona. Kids climb trees, they climb fences, they climb onto garages and jump off into piles of mattresses. My trauma patient is stable and waiting on Altman. I'll go down and have a look at her CTs myself. Alright?"

Arizona nodded and gave her friend a warm, thankful smile. "Thank you Miranda."

Down in radiology Callie was trying to be as gentle as possible as she positioned Josie's arm for the x-ray. When Josie whimpered or cried out her heart twisted painfully in her chest. "I know it hurts mija, but we're almost done and once I see what's going on I can make it better."

Josie sniffled and whimpered as she looked at her mommy with huge frightened eyes. "Are, are you mad at me, Mommy?"

"What?" Callie asked, a little taken aback by the question. "No, mija, I'm not mad at you. I wish you would have listened to me when I told you not to climb the trees in our yard because I don't like seeing you hurt, but I'm not mad."

"Is, is Mama?" Josie asked.

Callie reached out and brushed at her baby's tear soaked cheeks. "No, baby, Mama isn't mad at you either."

"Promise?" The little girl asked.

"Promise." Callie replied before placing a kiss on her baby's forehead. "Now be still so we can get these pictures. Then we're going to take some pictures of your insides, ok?"

"Ok Mommy." Josie said as she once again tried to be brave.

The x-ray on Josie's arm was easier on both her and Callie then the CT was proving to be. As much as she wanted to be Callie couldn't be in the room with Josie once the test began, she was relegated to the booth and did her best to remind herself that most parents wouldn't even get to be there while they're child was being run through the machine. Tears were welling in Callie's eyes as she looked through the window at her tiny little girl laying on the exam table waiting to be sent through the huge scary cat scan machine.

"Mommy!" Josie cried out in panic.

Callie's heart constricted. "I'm right here mija." She said through the intercom. "I'm right here and so is Aunt Miranda and we're going to do this as quickly as we can, I promise."

"Auntie Miranda?" Josie asked as she tried to look up.

"I'm right here baby girl." Bailey said into the mic. "We're going to take some pictures of the inside of your body and I'm going to be right here to look at them. I need you to be a big girl for me and hold still when I ask you too. Can you do that for me, Josie?"

The little girl nodded. "Yes ma'am." She replied to Bailey before crying out again, "Mommy?"

"Still here baby." Callie replied. "Are you ready? It's just like the game we play in the part, sweetie, the statue game, Aunt Miranda is going to count to three and when she says to be still, you're going to be as still as a statue until she says to relax, ok?"

Josie sniffled. She couldn't remember ever being so scared but she knew her mommy was close and her aunt was close, and that made her feel better. "Ok Mommy."

Bailey counted over the intercom and then told the girl to hold still. Josie held as still as she could. Then she did it again but this time she held her breath. Then she held still one more time so they could take a picture of her brain to show her Uncle Derek. She liked the idea of giving a picture of her brain to her uncle, because she knew he was a brain doctor. Maybe he'd even frame it. That thought helped get her through the rest of the test, which felt like it was taking forever. By the time her Mommy came into the room to get her she was starting to wonder if maybe her grown ups were going a little overboard.

"There's my girl." Arizona said as they brought Josie into a treatment room rather then putting her back in the curtain area. Word had traveled fast that Josie was in the ER. Teddy had stopped to check in on her way to her consult for Bailey, and Addison had come down to sit with Arizona while they waited. Once the gurney was put into place Arizona went over and put arms around her baby.

"She did great." Callie said with a beaming, reassuring smile as she put her arm around Sophie. "The CT was a little scary but she was awesome."

"Of course she was." Arizona said as she kissed Josie's face. "She's a Robbins-Torres and we're awesome."

Sophie walked over to the bed and held her baby sister's hand. "I'm sorry you got hurt, Jo-Jo."

Callie and Arizona watched their girls as they stepped closer to the door to watch for Bailey. "I gave her something mild for the pain but I think all it did was take the edge off." Callie whispered. "I'll give her something stronger once we're sure nothing's wrong internally. From what I could tell the CTs looked good, but Bailey's more about the soft squishy parts then I am."

"Have you seen the bone x-ray?" Arizona asked as she held tightly to her wife's hand.

"Not yet." Callie said. "They'll bring them straight to me when they're finished."

They didn't have to wait long. "Doctor Torres. You're x-rays are at the desk." A nurse said as she came to check on Josie.

Callie nodded and slipped out of the room while Sophie had Josie occupied. "Addison would you stay with the girls?" Arizona asked the redhead.

"Of course I will." Addison replied as she made herself comfortable in the chair next to her goddaughter's bed.

"Girls, Mommy and I will be right back, ok?" Arizona said with a nod of thanks to Addison.

When Arizona walked up to stand next to Callie, Callie was going over the x-ray she'd put up on the light box. Arizona knew that fractures could sometime's be hard to see on little bones, so she didn't say a word, she just let Callie do what Callie did best.

After several long minutes Callie's hand finally shot up as she pointed to something on the x-ray. "There. A transverse fracture of the ulna, it's a clean break." She sighed in relief. "I was afraid it would be shattered. She must not have fallen to far or to hard."

"So just a cast?" Arizona asked.

Callie nodded. "From the position of the break, just a short arm cast." Both women sighed in relief at the same time. When they went back to their daughter's room Callie gave her baby girl a warm smile. "Well mija there's no doubt about it. You young lady have a broken arm." Callie held up the x-ray to the light so both her girls could see. "There are two bones in your forearm. The radius, that's the small bone here on the side where your thumb is, and the ulna, that's the bigger bone on the side of your pinky finger. You miss Josephine have a break right here in your ulna, and because it's a clean break that didn't move or shift a lot we call that a transverse fracture."

Josie listened to what her mommy was saying and then sniffled, "Cool!"

Arizona couldn't hold back the groan. Her seven-year-old thought breaking her bone was cool. That child was going to be the death of her.

"Falling out of a tree you were told not to climb is not cool Josephine." Callie chided.

Josie pouted. "You said you weren't mad."

Callie reached out and cupped Josie's face when she saw her daughter's lip quiver. "I'm not mad, mija. It was an accident, but an accident that could have been avoided if you'd listened to me and Mama."

"I'm sorry." Josie said as she dropped her head and looked down at her lap.

"We'll talk about it in a few days." Arizona said as she came over to the bed to stand behind Callie, who was sitting on the edge. "Lets just get you patched up and home to rest, ok?"

Josie nodded.

"So," Callie said with a warm smile as she titled her daughter's head up. "What color cast would you like?"

Josie thought about it for a moment and then asked, "Orange?"

"I can do orange." Callie said with a smile. Leaning in she kissed her baby's forehead. "I'll be right back. I need to get the supplies for your cast, ok?"

"Ok." Josie said.

While Callie was gone Bailey came by to tell Arizona that everything looked good and that Derek had given the all clear on the head CT. They wanted to keep Josie around for a couple hours just in case, but nothing showed up on the scans. Arizona had been so tense that when Bailey told her everything was ok her knees went weak. If it hadn't been for Addison she would have collapsed.

"Thank you, Bailey." Addison said as she helped Arizona into a chair. Thankfully the girls weren't paying any attention. Sophie was keeping her sister as distracted as she could.

Arizona took several deep breaths and then smiled at Addison. "Talk about over reacting."

"You were worried about your baby girl." Addison said with a warm smile. "You're allowed to feel that kind of relief when you find out she's fine."

"I worked myself up." Arizona said. "Kids fall out of stuff all the time, right? I can't freak out every time they get hurt. Kids fall down, they skin knees and break bones, and bonk their heads on stuff. I can't assume that the worse every single time."

Addison listened to her friend rant until Arizona was all out of steam and then smiled as she asked, "Feel better?"

Arizona smiled sheepishly. "Yes, thank you."

In no time at all Callie had a short arm cast that went from the crease in Josie's palm to just below her elbow, on Josie's left arm. The fiberglass coloring was a bright orange and Josie was very proud of it. Once the pain meds had fully kicked in the little girl was back to being her talkative and bubbly self. She told everyone with great pride how far she'd climbed, and how cool it was to ride in the ambulance, and that her very own Mommy did her cast for her. Arizona and Callie were both a little worried that this experience wouldn't deter further such exploration and that this wouldn't be Josie's only broken bone. When Bailey returned with Josie's discharge papers she told them that the Chief had cleared out the rest of their schedules so they were both free to take their babies home.

While Sophie helped Callie make dinner, Arizona snuggled on the couch with her baby in her arms. Josie was a snuggly kid naturally but when she didn't feel well she was down right clingy. So it wasn't really a surprise when she stepped into her and Callie's bedroom that night after tucking Sophie in, to find Josie sound asleep on top of Callie, who was sitting up in their bed with her head titled back and her eyes closed. Arizona smiled at the sight. "So I take it she's sleeping with us?"

Callie opened her eyes and smiled sweetly. "She couldn't get comfortable in her bed. She wanted…"

"Mommy pillow." Arizona said with a soft laugh as Callie nodded. "It's fine with me. After the scare she put us through today, I kind of want her close too."

"She's such a determined kid." Callie said softly as she combed her fingers through her daughter's hair. "Once she sets her mind to something it just has to be done."

Arizona sighed as she nodded. "I don't want to smoother that in her but Callie, I think we need to curtail that a little. There's a difference between being adventures and strong-minded, and just plain reckless. I don't think I could bare it if she did something that got herself hurt really badly."

Callie nodded her agreement. "I told her we weren't angry." Her voice was soft and quiet, and she'd made sure that Josie was sound asleep before speaking. "But I have to admit there were moments when I was angry. We'd told her not to do it and she did it anyway. If she'd listened she wouldn't have gotten hurt."

Once she was finished getting ready for bed Arizona climbed in beside her wife and their baby daughter. "We're just going to have to be a little more direct with her."

"This is so totally cosmic pay back." Callie said as Arizona carefully took Josie so she could get up and get ready for bed herself. "For all the stupid shit I did to my parents. God I hope she never finds out about cliff diving. I nearly gave both of my parents a heart attack with that."

Arizona chuckled softly. "My Dad kind of encouraged stuff like this. I don't think he really knew what to do with a girl, so when he found out I liked climbing trees and rock climbing and stuff, he felt a little more at ease with spending time one on one."

"Do not tell her you like rock climbing." Callie said in a firm voice that meant she was dead serious.

"Limits, Calliope, not bubble wrap and cotton." Arizona teased, which made Callie huff.

Once they were all settled in, Josie out cold between them, Arizona watched as Callie traced her finger up and down Josie's cast. Their first broken bone, and they'd all made it through. Arizona felt like they'd cleared another hurtle. She smiled lovingly at her wife when Callie looked up to meet her eyes. "You're keeping the cast when it comes off, aren't you?"

Callie beamed. "Damn straight. I'm having it mounted and hanging it on the wall."


	6. Age Seven and Half: One Big Happy Family

When the surgeons of Seattle Grace - Mercy West say they're like a family they really do mean it. They're always coming together for special occasions like weddings and baptisms, they spend holidays together, and every summer they get together for a daylong barbeque in the park near the hospital. For the most part, for this one-day in midsummer, they all get the day off. A few of them would be on-call from time to time, and sometimes something would happen where they had to go into the hospital, but they'd been lucky so far and the day had yet to be completely washed out. Callie loved these little outings because she loved seeing her friends outside of work. Without the edge of their jobs they could relax and really be themselves, and that helped to connect them in ways that helped make them the world-class team they were. It wasn't easy for surgeons to find a balance between their personal lives and their careers, and so often one would have to suffer for the other. Meredith's mother had neglected her unwanted daughter for the sake of her career. The Chief had sacrificed having a family and nearly lost his wife for his. He didn't want to see his surgeons living the same life he and Ellis had, and he didn't want their children suffering the way Meredith had, so he was more then happy to give them time for days like this, and if they were lucky he'd even join them. After all they were the only family he had now.

As she helped Arizona and Bailey set up the refreshment table Callie looked up and scanned the area around the pavilion they'd claimed for the day. The first thing she saw was a streak of blue that made her smile. Her seven and half year old daughter had just gotten her cast off a week ago and the little dirty blonde, blue eyed child seemed to be making up for eight weeks of having her activities limited because she'd been a bundle of energy since the day it came off. Josie was such a little tomboy. She was wearing jean shorts, a Mariners jersey, and matching cap with her long dirty blonde hair threaded through the back. She loved sports and the rough and tumble play she got into with the boys, and yet she could sit and play dress up for hours. She was a bundle of contradictions that kept her mothers on their toes.

Callie stood there watching as her daughters played with their dad, who had bought them each an overly expensive kite to play with. Mark was laughing as the girls ran, trying to get the kites to leave the ground. She wondered if maybe she should break it to them that it just wasn't windy enough, but then she wouldn't be able to watch them trying their best to get the kites airborne. She decided to wait it out, sooner or later one of her two angles would get pissy over not being able to do it, and she'd step in before their little Latina tempers got them into trouble.

"So have you told them yet?" Bailey asked as she looked up at her friends with a knowing smile and a raised eyebrow.

Arizona shook her head, which caused her blonde ponytail to swing from where it stuck out of the back of her baseball cap. Like mother like daughter Callie thought, as Arizona answered, "Not yet."

"What are you waiting for?" Bailey asked as she looked between two of her closest friends.

"We're a little worried about Josie's reaction." Callie explained to the shorter woman. "She's been the baby for nearly eight years. We don't want her to freak out."

"She's going to freak out." Bailey told them with a gentle chuckle. "She and Sophie are both going to freak out, but then they'll be just fine. This isn't really a secret you can keep for long you know. Arizona is going to start showing soon."

"We'll tell them when they get back from their vacation with Mark." Arizona said as Callie wrapped her arms around her waist from behind. She couldn't stop herself from smiling when Callie put her hands lovingly, protectively over her stomach. For the past two years they'd been trying to get pregnant again. Arizona had finally reached the point in her life when she wanted to be pregnant, and she and Callie had agreed after a lot of late night talks that three kids was perfect for them, and that this baby would be the final piece to their puzzle. This was their fourth attempt at implanting one of Callie's fertilized eggs in Arizona's uterus and this time it took. They were over the moon but still being cautious. Arizona was older then Callie had been when she'd had the girls, and Arizona didn't feel as if she were strong enough to handle it if anything happened to this pregnancy. "By the time Mark and the girls get back I'll be out of the first trimester. I'll feel a little more secure in telling them."

"Mark's taking the girls some where?" Addison asked as she joined the group. Before anyone could answer she called out, "Ethan, keep an eye on your sister please."

"Ok Mom!" Ethan called back as he took his little four-year-old sister's hand. Emily Rhea was adopted when Ethan's birthmother showed up in Seattle unexpectedly in the middle of unexpected pregnancy. The young woman didn't want the baby, and Addison didn't even hastate in taking her. She had two beautiful children and for the first time in her life, her life felt right, and she was happy.

Callie nodded at her friend's question when Addison turned her attention back to them. "He's taking them to Australia for two weeks, just him and them."

Addison looked surprised. Mark was a great father, but two weeks alone on another continent with his nearly eleven year old and his almost eight year old was a huge step for him. "How did you manage to work that out?"

"Honestly?" Callie said with a laugh. "He got charmed by his own charm."

"He was still feeling guilty for being in Europe with Lexie when Josie broke her arm." Arizona explained because Callie was still laughing. "Josie used that to her advantage. She and her sister talked him into taking them on a trip to make up for his not being here when she needed him. When he agreed and asked where, they picked Australia."

"Why Australia?" Bailey asked as she handed Addison a drink. "Wouldn't most kids ask to go someplace like Disney World?"

Arizona beamed as Callie said, "The girls won't go to Disney without Arizona."

"And Australia was the most adventurous place they could think of." Arizona added.

Having given up on trying to get the kites to fly, Josie and Sophie talked their dad into playing catch with them. It was certainly a sight to see as Mark Sloan chased two giggling girls around the grassy field. Somehow a game of catch had turned into a game of keep away from Dad. The ball long forgotten, the girls ran from their Dad who was darting back and forth between the two. Mark, who never in his life thought he could ever be this happy, who never pictured him self having a family, felt as if he had it all. Mark was blessed and he knew it. Despite all his years as a selfish, arrogant, man whore, he had been given a good life with Lexie; he had his kids, his friends, and his career. What more could he ask for?

"Daddy!" Josie squealed when Mark caught her and swung her up into the air.

Mark laughed as he tossed Josie over his shoulder while he ran after Sophie. Sophie however wasn't going down without a fight. She suddenly stopped running away from Mark and ran towards him, tackling him, knocking him and her sister to the soft grass. Both girls piled on top of their dad and started tickling him mercilessly.

"That is still such an amazing and weird thing to see." Addison said from where she sat beside Callie. "He is so not the man he use to be. He's better. And it's not all that surprising that it took three totally different women to finally set him right."

"You make it sound weird." Callie said with a soft chuckle and scrunched up nose.

Addison laughed. "It's not weird in a bad way. Mark's a complex guy and each of you compliments a piece of that complexity. The only thing Mark has ever wanted in his life was a family of his own, and he has that now."

"Dad." Sophie said as she glanced over to the pavilion. "They're talking about you." She paused a moment and then added, "They're giving you that look again."

Mark looked up and laughed. He winked at the ladies and then waved Tuck, Ethan, and Emily over. Crouching down to a more kid friendly height he started whispering.

"That can't be any good." Derek said with a smirk as he and Meredith joined the others. "He's got that look on his face." Their son Chris took off at a dead run for the little pow-wow with Uncle Mark with their chocolate lab hot on his heels, while Derek and Meredith set their toddling two year old twins down on their cubby little legs. The two had come to terms with only having one child when wham; out of nowhere Meredith gets pregnant. It had not been an easy pregnancy in the least but in the end they'd gotten another beautiful son, George Marcus, and a beautiful daughter, Carol Susanne.

Over the next hour Callie watched as the rest of their little family showed up. Owen and a very pregnant Christina, Teddy, and Alex with one of the biggest surprises they'd ever been slapped in the face with, Michael Alexander Stevens, his son. No one had been more surprised then Alex when Izzie suddenly showed up three years ago with a four-year-old boy who looked just like Alex. Michael had been sick and had needed surgery and Izzie's first instinct was to bring him to Seattle Grace. Arizona had groomed Alex into a damn fine Peds surgeon, second only to herself on the west coast. But because he was Michael's father, Arizona had taken Michael's case and with Bailey assisting preformed the surgery he needed to save his life. Alex had really stepped up, despite his anger at Izzie for using their embryos without telling him, and turned out to be a really good dad. Which was probably one of the reasons why Callie kept catching Addison stealing glances at the younger surgeon.

"What are you smirking at?" Arizona asked as she came up next to Callie and slipped her arm around her wife's waist.

Callie smiled as she stood there watching as everyone picked sides for a baseball game. "I keep thinking about how five misfit interns started the program to become surgeons and ended up being the catalyst for this." She swept her hand out over the gathering of adults and kids. "Meredith sucked Derek in, Derek sucked Mark and Addison in. George sucked me in, and then I in turn sucked you in. Christina sucked Owen in, and Own sucked Teddy in." She laughed as she continued. "And we all kind of sucked Bailey in against her will."

"Bailey doesn't do anything against her will." Arizona said with a smile. Leaning up, Arizona placed a kiss on Callie's cheek. "She knew a good thing and this, this is a good thing."

Callie beamed as she turned her head so she could place a kiss on her wife's lips.

"Come on Torres!" Mark called out. "You're holding up the game."

Josie ran over to her mothers and took her Mommy's hand before reaching for her Mama. "Come on, Mama. You can be on our team."

Arizona smiled at her daughter as she gave a slight shake of her head. "I think I'm going to sit this one out, baby, give Aunt Christina someone to hang out with."

"But Mama." Josie whined. "Aunt Mer is on our team and," She lowered her voice to a whisper. "she kinda sucks."

"Josephine." Arizona scolded lightly.

The whispered comment made Christina snort. "She has a point. Mer does suck. She is so un-athletic."

Arizona rolled her eyes. "How did Aunt Meredith end up on your Dad's team anyway? Why isn't she on Uncle Derek's?"

Josie shrugged. "Daddy said something about a dirty ex-mistresses club."

Sapphire blue eyes went wide as Arizona looked up and yelled. "Mark Sloan!"

"Mommy?" Josie said as she watched her mama storm off towards the baseball diamond. "Did I just get Daddy in trouble with Mama?"

Callie was trying really hard to hold in her laughter. She managed to squeak out, "Little bit, yeah." While her shoulders shook from her struggle. Once she was sure she wasn't going to completely loose it she took Josie's hand. "Come on mija. Lets get this game started before Mama beats Dad with a bat."

They normally played about four maybe five innings depending on how long the kids wanted to play and how hungry everyone was getting. They'd decided on four today since lunch was nearly done. The score was tied with Mark's team up to bat. Josie was on first base when her Aunt Meredith came to bat. As soon as her aunt hit the ball she ran, stopped at second when Meredith was tagged out at first. She stood at second waiting as she bounced on the balls of her feet. "Come on Aunt Teddy!" She called out. As soon as she saw her aunt hit the ball Josie took off and just kept running.

"Go baby go!" Arizona cheered.

"Hurry mija!" Callie called out from the baseline.

Josie yelped in surprise when she saw Mikey coming at her with the ball in his hands. She tried to stay out of his reach which meant that the two seven year olds were now running all over the place while their parents tried to guide them back to where they should be. The adults who weren't trying to get the kids to play the right way were laughing their heads off. When Josie found herself once again between third and home she suddenly stopped and yelled at Mikey. "Stop!" Mikey stopped. Josie grinned, then kissed his cheek, making sure not to let the ball in his hand touch her. Mikey was so stunned he didn't realize Josie had turned and was running for home. There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone watched Josie kiss and run and then everyone just broke down into fits of hysterical laughter.

"That's how you work the Sloan Charm!" Mark barked out as he laughed, his smile and eyes beaming.

"That's wasn't fair!" Alex complained, despite his laughter. "How was he suppose react when she flashed those damn Robbins dimples!"

Callie was laughing so hard her face was flushed but she managed to get out, "No one can resist those dimples, Karev."

"You should know." Arizona teased her wife.

While the adults laughed and teased each other Josie was doing a little victory dance on home plate. After the game everyone went back to the pavilion to get drinks, cool off after playing in the warm sun for so long, and finish off lunch.

"Lexie." Callie said as she watched Mark sneak off with their daughter yet again. "What are they up too?"

"What?" Lexie replied as her head snapped up, a small yelp of surprise in her voice. "Who? Up to what?"

That made Callie even more suspicious. "Mark and the girls; Mark and most of the kids really. What are they u too?"

"Why would they be up to something?" Lexie asked as she busied herself with fixing a plate of food for her baby nephew and niece while Meredith and Arizona tried to round up the older kids.

Callie narrowed dark eyes at the younger woman. "You're in on it."

"In on what?" Lexie asked.

"Mmhmm." Callie said. "Just remember chica, I know where you live."

After finally getting all the kids back to the pavilion and washed up, everyone settled in to eat. Callie and Arizona were sitting across from their daughters and neither could hide the smiles caused by their youngest's barbeque sauce covered face. Everyone was laughing and talking and just enjoying each other. There were no life or death choices to make, no traumas, no surgeries, no personal dramas. It was a family, friends, having fun being together. It was the kind of big family get together Callie had grown up with and missed, the kind Arizona never had the chance to have because she was always moving around and now cherished. How could she have ever not wanted this? Leaning over she kissed Callie before giving her a super magic smile. Callie returned that smile easily.

Their moment of appreciation was cut short by Josie who was digging into her second chicken leg, the girl was looking oddly at the piece of meat with a bite mark in it. "Mommy?"

"Yes mija?" Callie said as she turned to look at her little girl.

"How do you choke a chicken?" Josie asked as she turned sapphire eyes on her mother.

Nearly everyone at the table choked as all adult eyes turned to look at the girl. Callie's dark eyes went huge as she couched and sputtered on the drink of beer she'd just taken. Arizona's face flushed in embarrassment as Callie asked, "What?"

Josie blinked as she looked at the adults' odd reaction to her question. Giving her mothers her own odd look she said, "Mikey said that's how you kill a chicken so we can eat it, but how do you choke a chicken? It's got a skinny neck."

"Dude, really?" Alex asked his son.

"What?" Michael asked as he looked at his Dad and then the others. "Isn't that what choking a chicken means?"

All the adults looked at each other wondering what to say while all the kids looked at each other wondering what was wrong with the adults. Deciding this needed to stop before it got out of hand Bailey suddenly asked, "Who wants popsicles?"

Callie mouthed a thank you to her friend when Josie jumped out of her seat and yelled she wanted a red one.

After everything was cleaned up, including the kids, the adults all settled in to just talk. No one noticed when Lexie slipped away, nor did they notice when Mark left. And despite the fact that they were keeping an eye on the kids no one noticed Josie slip over to the cooler and fill a Dixie cup with ice. They did however become very suspicious when Ethan, Chris, Josie, and Sophie all got rather cuddly with their moms, and Mikey got awfully cuddly with Teddy. Everyone's suspicions were justified when one after the another, Addison, Meredith, Callie, Arizona and Teddy all shrieked as the ice cubes dropped down the back of their shirts hitting their warm skin. Each child giggled like mad as their names were screeched out and took off running with their respective victims jumping to their feet and running after them.

Josie lead her Mommy into the next stage of the set up. Her Dad, Lexie, and Tuck were all hiding behind trees with super soakers. When Callie was hit in the back with a strong stream of cold water she gasped and spun around. "Mark!"

A few feet away Meredith screamed. "Lexie!"

From the pavilion Bailey could be heard. "Tuck!"

Uncle Mark had even given Emily a small water gun and the four year old was happily squirting her Mom with it. It had been easy for Mark to slip off to the store to buy his ambush weapons. He'd thought about getting water balloons but didn't want to think about the clean up that would require. When Mark came up with this little idea he hadn't factored in the resourcefulness of the women, so when he suddenly felt a cooler of ice water being dumped over his head it completely took his breath away. By the time it was over everyone was wet, but Mark was the only one soaked. More food, more talking, and games of horse shores and cornhole were played before the day finally started to wind down. Everyone helped to clean up and put overly tired kids into cars. For Callie, as she watched each family pull away and drive off, it was a little sad. They didn't get many days like this and it was always just a little sad to see it end. But it helped to know that in a few short weeks they would all gather again to celebrate Sophie's birthday, and then Josie's, and before long the birth of their third child. Callie loved her family.

"Mommy." Josie said sleepily from the back seat.

"Yes mija?" Callie replied.

"You never answered my question about the chicken."


	7. Age Nine: Roller Girl Jr

It was not uncommon to see a pretty blonde rolling around Seattle Grace – Mercy West on a pair of heely sneakers. Most of the time that pretty blonde was head of Pediatric Surgery, Doctor Arizona Robbins-Torres, but on occasion the roller girl in question was Doctor Robbins' nine-year-old daughter Josephine. Josephine had gotten the shoes with wheels in the heel for Christmas, which had been a total shock to the girl because her other mother, an Orthopedic surgeon who'd already had to cast a broken bone on her once, had been dead set against them. Callie Robbins-Torres didn't like the idea of her wife zipping around polished hospital floors on those things, but Arizona had been doing it for years and thankfully hadn't broken anything. Josie wasn't nearly as cautious as her Mama was, so her Mommy just knew that if they got her the shoes she'd break her arm again or worse. Josie must have worn her Mommy down, or her Mama had convinced her that Josie would be careful or something because on Christmas morning there were her shoes. Josie wore them everywhere but school, and so far she hadn't broken anything, though she had trashed three pairs of jeans.

As Josie rolled down the long hall with two cartons of orange juice and two packs of pop-tarts stuffed in her hoodie pockets, she thought about the looks on her mothers faces each time she'd come home with the legs of her jeans shredded and giggled. The last time her Mommy threatened to take her shoes away if she ruined one more pair, so Josie was being a little more careful then normal. She really couldn't help the fact that she found her moms to be totally cute when they were huffy about silly things like clothes she'd just grow out of in a few months anyway. Rounding the corner Josie waved at the nurses at the desk as she made her way towards her godmother's office. She came to a stop and walked the rest of the way with a bright good morning smile. "Good morning Aunt Addie."

Addison Montgomery looked up from her chats and smiled. "Hey there sweet pea."

Josie walked over to the desk and set the orange juice down before fishing out the pop-tarts. "Did you deliver the baby this morning?"

"I did." Addison said with a smile as her goddaughter offered her a pack of brown sugar pop-tarts. "A little girl, six pounds and nine ounces."

"Emily said you left super early this morning." Josie said as she put the straw in the carton of o.j. and then handed it to the redhead.

Emily was Addison's six-year-old daughter. She called her favorite cousin nearly every morning just to say hi. Addison loved how close all the kids were. She loved the big, close family environment her kids were being raised in. It made being a single mother a lot easier knowing that her children had people they could always rely on, and other kids who understood what it meant to be the child of a surgeon. "I did. It was still dark out when I left this morning, and it's been hours since I've eaten. How did you know I could use a snack?"

Josie just shrugged and blushed a little at the smile she was getting. She was a naturally nurturing person so doing little things like bringing her aunt a snack didn't seem like a big deal to her. Josie didn't realize that a lot of kids her age were a little more self-absorbed. She just knew that she liked doing nice things for the people she loved. Josie chatted and giggled with her godmother until it was time for Addison to go on rounds As they cleaned up their mess, Josie asked, "Can Ethan and Em still come over this weekend?"

"As long as it's still ok with your moms and you and Ethan don't get into any trouble until then." Addison said with a smirk. Ethan, her ten-year-old son, and Josie were two peas in a pod. They were always into something or sneaking off somewhere they shouldn't be. Mark liked to tease, saying the two would grow up and get married, which would make both kids scowl at him. It only got worse when Michael, Alex Karev's nine-year-old son, was visiting his dad because then the two boys competed for Josie's attention.

"Aunt Addison." Josie said as she put her hands on her hips, making her look very much like Callie in that moment. "Ethan and I are angels."

Addison snorted at that. She was only Aunt Addison when Josie was trying to be very grown up and serious. "Yes, but you keep your halos up with your horns." Leaning down she placed a kiss on top of her goddaughter's head. "Keep out of trouble Tiny Torres."

Josie huffed a little but then popped back on her heels and rolled off. She made a pass through Peds which was where she was suppose to be while her moms were in surgery, so the nurses would see her. Then she headed for the other side of the hospital. Josie wasn't actually allowed into the cardiac ward so she just rolled in circles until she saw the woman she was waiting for. She was walking with a group of interns, which meant they'd just finished rounds. She followed behind them at a respectable distance until all the little baby surgeons scurried away to do whatever it was that her Aunt Teddy told them to do. Once the interns were gone Teddy turned on her heel to face the little girl who'd been tagging along. "Hey Squirt. No school today?"

"Nope." Josie said with a smile. Teddy Altman was her Mama's best friend, just like her Aunt Addie was her Mommy's, and one of her favorite aunts. She loved all her aunts and uncles but there was something special about Teddy. "Teacher in service."

Teddy motioned the girl to come along with her as she walked. "Walk, Josie, you know those shoes make me nervous." She warned the girl when she saw her rising up on her heels. She tried her best to keep a stern look when she caught sapphire eyes roll, but the look reminded her so much of Arizona she couldn't help the little tug at the corner of her lips. As they walked down the hall together Teddy asked, "Here on your own?"

Josie nodded. "Sophie decided to spend the day with her friends." Sophie was twelve now and was starting to act more and more like a tween, which Josie didn't care for at all. She liked being her sister's best friend and lately Sophie was spending more time with her school friends then with her. "Mac's in daycare, and I'm so totally over daycare, so I'm just kind of hanging out."Timothy Marcus Robbins-Torres was her baby brother. Sophie had been named for her Mommy's grandmother Sofia; Grace was a way of naming her after everyone at the hospital who helped to save her life. Josie's name came from her Mommy's grandfather, Jose, and her Mama's father Daniel; Timothy had been her Mama's brother's name, and Marcus was after their Dad. Names were a big deal for her mothers. The nickname Mac had come from her Aunts Christina and Meredith who kept calling him Mini McSteamy; Josie really wasn't sure how that worked it's self out. Her Mama had given birth to Mac almost a year ago and she was finally starting to not resent him for taking her place as the baby of the family. It helped that she was still the baby girl, and it also helped that Mac was kind of hard not to love. His hair was a few shades darker then hers and the only one out of the three of them with their Mommy's big brown eyes and the Sloan nose.

"Well, you're more then welcome to hang out with me until I have to go up to surgery." Teddy told the girl. "I have some tests and things I need to pick up and I would love the company."

"Cool." Josie said with a smile. The two blondes walked and talked for a good twenty minutes before Josie's attention was drawn away from her aunt's story about forcing her Mama to play baseball for their first girls' night. They were on the first floor near admitting when Josie caught sight of him. William George Bailey Jones, or Tuck as everyone called him was her Aunt Miranda's sixteen-year-old son. Josie had known him her whole life and until recently she'd seen him as just another cousin, but then one day while he was helping her with her homework she noticed he had really pretty eyelashes, and really pretty eyes too. Ever since then she'd started feeling a little awkward around him because she didn't understand that she totally had a crush on him. Tuck was a volunteer at the hospital, which was why he was helping out in admitting, showing people how to get to places like the lab and radiology, and why he was wearing a baby blue polo shirt that Josie thought looked really nice on him.

Teddy noticed her niece's sudden change in attitude and just as she looked up to see what Josie was looking at Tuck looked up and saw them. She smiled as the young man came towards them. "Hello Tuck. How are you today?"

"Hello Dr. Altman." Tuck said with a warm smile. If they hadn't been in the hospital he would have called her Teddy, but his Mama raised him to be polite and professional. "I'm well thank you."

When she saw Tuck coming towards them Josie ducked behind her tall aunt to hide. She actually pressed her face against Teddy's back as she gripped her lab coat in her hands. This was totally weird, she'd always liked Tuck, he was cool to hang out with and way smart, and even though he was older then them he always played with the younger kids, and now he suddenly made her nervous.

Tuck smiled as he looked around the tall doctor at the little girl behind her. "Hi ya Josie."

"Hi." Josie replied her voice muffled from having her face pressed against Teddy's back.

Teddy had to fight the urge to laugh. Not only was Josie being unbearably cute, the girl's voice against her back was kind of ticklish. "Josie and I were just on our way to pick up some labs for a patient."

"Then I won't keep you." Tuck said, still smiling. "Bye Josie."

"Bye." Josie mumbled. Relief washed over the nine-year-old as she and her aunt walked away. She threw a small wave over her shoulder to the tall, handsome boy who was still smiling at her. She couldn't help but smile back. Josie was so grateful that her aunt didn't say anything about their run in with Tuck. She didn't want to talk about it because she didn't really get it. After letting her aunt take her back up to Peds, Josie made another go round of making sure the nurses saw her, and then she checked in with her godfather to see how much longer her Mama would be in surgery. Once she was sure she still had some time Josie set out once again. This time she headed down to the research labs. She peeked into her Mommy's but she wasn't there, which meant she was still on the surgical floor. Rolling down the hall and around the corner she found the door to her Uncle Derek's lab open. She knocked and smiled when he looked up.

"Come look at this." Derek told his best friend's daughter with a smile.

Josie walked over and looked into the microscope.

"What do you see?" Derek asked.

"Cells." Josie answered. She had so many doctors in her family that being good at science was no real surprise, but unlike her sister, or Chris, or Ethan she had a real interest in it. She liked when her grown ups showed her stuff like this. They were all pretty willing to show her things and explain things, but her Aunt Christina was the best because she always showed her the most inappropriate things, like a real human heart and some wickedly damaged lungs.

"What kind of cells?" Derek asked.

Josie looked carefully before answering, "Brian cells, because you're a brain surgeon, duh."

Derek laughed. "Ok smartypants. Tell me about the brain cells."

Again the girl looked through the microscope carefully. "They look funny."

"How so?" The dark haired head of neurosurgery asked.

Josie pulled away from the microscope and looked around for a blank sheet of paper. When her uncle handed her one with a pencil she drew what she was seeing on the slide, or as good a rendition as a nine year old could do. "This is how that looks." Then she drew a second picture. "And you said last time that a neuron looks like this."

Derek was beaming. "Very good." Then he switched out the slides. "Now, take a look at this one."

The little blonde did as she was told and looked at the second slide. It took a few minutes for her to really take in and process what she was seeing and then she drew a third picture. "This one is better then the first but still looks funny."

"The second one use to look like the first one." Derek explained. "But it was exposed to the medication Aunt Meredith and I have been working on."

Josie beamed with pride at that. "Does that mean the new medication is making it better?"

Derek nodded. "That's what we're hoping it means." He couldn't help but smile at the way she was smiling. He switched out the slides again and as she looked this time he asked more age appropriate questions, like what were the different parts of a cell and about the different systems in the human body.

"Shepherd." Mark barked playfully from the doorway. "Stop trying to turn my kid into a neurosurgeon."

Josie's whole face lit up at the sight of her Dad.

"You'd rather her waste her life in plastics?" Derek teased back.

Josie giggled as her dad and his best friend teased each other. In all honesty when people talked about what kind of surgeon Josie would be if she were to grow up to become a surgeon the general consensus was trauma surgeon because the girl liked a good rush.

"Do your mothers know where you are?" Mark asked his daughter once he and Derek were finished busting each other's balls.

"They're in surgery." Josie answered as she looked at her Dad with her most angelic face.

"So what your saying is, no Dad, my Moms don't know where I'm at, and when they go to where I'm suppose to be they're going to freak." Mark said as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his daughter.

Josie blushed. "Kinda."

"Go." Mark said pointing to the door.

Josie sighed. She kissed her uncle and then her Dad on the cheek and hurried out the door, skirting away from her Dad's hand, which tried to swat her behind.

"Look at you being a parent." Derek teased.

Mark smiled that boyish smile of his. "I know right?"

Josie had every intention of going back up to her Mama's ward but as she was rolling past the open section of the walkway she was distracted by the sight of a group of people who were sitting in the surgical waiting area. It was an older man, a middle aged man, and two teenage girls, and they all looked so worried and even a little scared. She completely lost all track of time as she stood there watching the family below. Then suddenly the family all jumped to their feet, and Josie took in that spilt second between them taking notice of the approaching surgeon and when said surgeon spoke to them. Josie was so wrapped up in watching the family it took her several minutes to realize it was her Mom they were talking too.

"Josie Torres what on earth are you doing?" Doctor Miranda Bailey asked as she came up behind the girl.

"Watching." Josie said honestly.

"Watching what?" Bailey asked as she looked over the railing. "Josephine, you shouldn't pry like this. You're invading those people's privacy."

Josie turned to look at her aunt with a chided expression. "I'm sorry Aunt Miranda. I didn't mean too. I just happened to look down and saw them sitting there. They looked so sad and worried." She turned back to look down at the scene below them and then said. "There was this moment just after they saw my Mom coming and before she reached them. It was weird."

"Weird how?" Miranda asked as she put her arm around the girl. When Josie had looked at her she could see a hundred different thoughts and emotions swirling in her dark blue eyes. She had her mothers' eyes. Both Callie and Arizona told you a lot more through their eyes then their words.

The girl had to really think that over before she could explain. "Like in that moment everything stopped."

"It's a moment of uncertainty, so in a way, things do kind of stop." Bailey explained. "In that moment between seeing the surgeon and hearing what happened, the world stops. Fear and uncertainty, hope and relief, it all kind of lingers around them, waiting."

"For the good news or the bad." Josie says softly.

Bailey nods.

"That must be so hard." Josie says, her voice soft and almost reverent.

"It is." Bailey said as she gave the girl a squeeze. "It's never easy when a member of your family is in surgery."

Josie nodded her understanding. She shifted her gaze to her Mom and watched as the ortho surgeon explained things. Her Mom's demeanor was different then Josie was use too, but it made Josie extremely proud. "It must be a weird moment for surgeons too."

Bailey looked at the girl for a long moment before she answered, "Yes, it is. It's never easy to tell a family that their loved one had complications, or that things didn't go well, or that he or she didn't make it. They put a lot of trust in us and we have to carry that."

Josie got really still and really quite as she thought about what Bailey was saying. She thought about her mothers and the many different moods they could be in when they came home. Josie knew and understood that her mothers saved lives, but she never really knew just how that would effected everyone involved. A slow, loving smile appeared on the girl's face as she watched her Mom walk off, still in her surgical gowns and scrub cap. "My grown ups are pretty awesome."

The smile on Bailey's face was big and bright. She knew she was one of Josie's grown ups and seeing the love and awe in the little girl's face was just want she needed to see before going into back to back surgeries. Bailey let the moment come to a natural end before asking, "Where are you suppose to be?"

"Hmm?" Josie said as she turned to her aunt, pulling herself out of her thoughts. "Oh." She looked sheepish. "Peds."

"And why are you suppose to be in Peds?" Bailey asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Because both of my Moms are in surgery and can't chase after me." Josie answered. "And they don't think it's far to make others chase after me. They don't mind me roaming as long as one of them is around to come get me if they have too."

"And why are you not in Peds right now since they're both in surgery?" Bailey asked.

Until now no one had asked why Josie was wandering the hospital. It was just something she did so they were use to it. Bailey on the other had knew to ask the right questions when the right questions needed to be asked. Josie was pretty good at talking her way out of things with most of her grown-ups, but Bailey wasn't one to be talked around. "Uncle Alex said Mama's intern was a suck up, so he paid me twenty bucks to avoid him, since Mama asked him to keep an eye on me for her."

"Josephine Robbins-Torres!" Bailey scolded. "Tormenting interns is not your job." Bailey's voice remained stern but the slight tug of her lip gave her away. "That's my job. You'd better high tail that little behind of yours back up to Peds before you Mama gets out of surgery. You've been warned about helping Karev be evil."

Josie giggled. "Yes Ma'am." She gave her aunt a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek before rolling off.

Up in Peds the original blonde roller girl was heelying her way down the hall towards the nurses' station. She was in a really good mood since her surgery had gone well so she was smiling as she came to a stop. She updated the nurses on their patient's stats so they could prepare for his return from recovery. Once that was finished she headed towards her office with a plan. She was going to retrieve her middle child and they were going to race around the hospital's empty parking lot. Arizona felt the need to burn off some left over nervous energy and she knew Josie would need to get out and stretch her legs a bit before they met up with Callie for lunch.

"Doctor Robbins!" Doctor Conway yelped when he saw his attending coming towards him.

Grown men yelping like that was never a good sign. "Doctor Conway."

"Doctor Robbins, I, um, I, err…" The young man stuttered.

Arizona gave him an encouraging smile as she said, "Just spit it out, Doctor Conway."

"I lost your daughter." The young man spit out.

"You lost my daughter?" Arizona repeated as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The young man swallowed hard and took a step back from the blonde attending. "She was in your office when I went on rounds with Doctor Karev but when I got back she was gone. I've looked all over the hospital and I can't find her."

The poor kid looked like he was about to be sick. "It's alright Doctor Conway. Josie knows this hospital better then any intern. Did you ask Doctor Karev if he'd seen her? Or the nurses?"

Conway shook his head, still looking stricken at the thought of loosing his attending's kid.

After doing her best to reassure Conway, Arizona headed back down the hall to find her spawn. This wasn't the first time Josie had pulled this on an intern and just like the previous times she had a pretty good idea who put her up to it.

Josie was on her way down the hall towards the double doors that lead into the Peds ward. She'd done just as her Aunt Miranda said, only with a quick pit stop at the cafeteria to get a milkshake. She was sucking on her straw, wheeling down the hall on her heelys, when she saw her Mama turn the corner. The look on her Mama's face told her that she'd been busted. "Uhoh." She said as she quickly turned down another corner.

"Josephine Daniela Robbins-Torres!" Arizona called out. "I saw you!"

Josie swallowed hard and then ducked her head around the corner and smiled a megawatt smile at her Mama. "Hi Mama! How was surgery?"

"Don't you hi Mama me young lady." Arizona scolded as she pointed to the space in front of her.

With her head down Josie slowly wheeled over to where her Mama was pointing and stopped. She looked up at the woman and smiled as she offered her cup. "Want some? It's chocolate."

"Josephine." Arizona said sternly, her own sapphire eyes glaring at her child who was looking up at her so sweetly. "What have you been told about freaking out the interns?"

"That it's Aunt Miranda's job." She said deadpan. It was the truth after all; her aunt had just said it herself.

Arizona had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing or smiling at her daughter's reply. "What were you told about you messing with them?"

Josie bit her lip before replying, "Not too, and that just because Uncle Alex acts like an evil spawn doesn't mean I have to too, but Doctor Conway was being soooooo annoying, Mama. He was treating me like a baby or a patient, and I couldn't promise not to go all wacko on him if he patted me on the head one more time."

"Sometimes we have to deal with annoying people, Josephine." Arizona said after her daughter's little rant. "What you did wasn't very nice. You could have at least told him where you were going to go."

"Not my fault he doesn't know what everyone else in this hospital knows." Josie huffed. "He could have asked a cadaver and they'd have known who I go to see and where to look. He just didn't try. A good doctor knows when to ask for help."

Arizona rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap child of mine. How much did Karev pay you?"

"Twenty bucks, but I only have seventeen left." Josie said as she wiggled her cup to show where the three bucks went. When her Mama held out her hand, indicating she wanted the money, Josie looked between her Mama's face and her palm. "Mama!" She whined.

"It's ill gotten gains." Arizona said as she flexed her fingers in a give me kind of motion. Once Josie placed the money in her hand she said, "We'll put this in one of the donation jars. You can pick which one."

Down in the cafeteria Callie was sitting with Teddy and Owen waiting on Arizona and their daughter to come down for lunch. Her whole face brightened when she saw Arizona walk in and head towards them but her smile dimmed a little when she noticed her wife was alone. "Did you forget something?"

"Nope." Arizona said as she placed her tray on the table and sat down beside her wife. "She's in my office writing a note of apology to the poor intern she freaked out today. She gets that from you by the way."

"Me?" Callie asked with a snort. "I don't torture interns."

Owen raised a ginger eyebrow at that. "O'Malley and the wedding dress contest?"

"That was me getting back at him for sleeping with Stevens." Callie defended. "That wasn't about him being an intern."

Teddy chuckled as she looked at Arizona. "Didn't you threaten to smack Karev's face in with a brick?"

"That was me getting back at him for sleeping with Callie." Arizona huffed. "And he wasn't an intern. And, it's not like you haven't done your fair share of getting even by using your position. You made Christina jump through hoops when you found out about her and Owen."

"She has a point." Owen said.

Callie looked up from her sandwich and titled her head to the side. "Ya know Owen, I think you might be the only one of us who's never tortured a minion."

"Minion?" Owen asked with a chuckle.

Callie smiled. "Well, that's what interns, residents, and fellows are, our minions."

The four of them laughed and joked even after Christina joined them. When Josie finally came down she still had a slight scowl on her face as she handed her Mama her note to read over. Arizona said she'd read it when they went back upstairs, and then gave her daughter ten bucks to get her lunch. The adults were all chatting when a sudden clatter by the frozen yogurt machine caught their attention. Josie and Tuck were standing there, Josie looking mortified and Tuck just smiling gently at her. When Callie went to get up to help her daughter Teddy reached out and stopped her. "You'll just embarrass her more."

"Why would I embarrass her more?" Callie asked.

Teddy gave a bright smile as she said, "Josie has a crush on Tuck." She then explained what happened when she and Josie had run into him earlier. After hearing this every one of them turn to watch the little girl as she and Tuck helped to clean up the mess, and as Tuck helped her get another bowl of frozen yogurt. Callie and Arizona couldn't stop watching as Josie ducked her head shyly and looked up at Tuck through her lashes.

"I'm not ready for this." Arizona said. "I am so not ready for this. I'm still dealing with Sophie starting to like boys."

"I think you still have a little time." Teddy told her best friend reassuringly. "I don't think she understands that she has a crush."

"Calliope." Arizona whined. "Make them little again."

Callie snorted. "I would if I could."

When Josie finally came back over to the table she set her tray down and then looked at all the grown ups who were staring at her. "What?" When they all said nothing in unison she gave them an odd look. Sometimes grown ups made absolutely no damn sense.


	8. Age Ten: Happy Glowing Hearts

News traveled fast inside Seattle Grace – Mercy West hospital. From the moment Doctor Teddy Altman's newest patient came into the ER and uttered the name of his normal cardio-thoracic surgeon the hospital had been buzzing with the news. The tension in the hospital had also been building since Teddy had made the call to that surgeon. SGMW-ers were a loyal bunch especially when it came to people they liked a lot. That was one of the things Teddy loved about working here, but then again she'd been accepted easily into the fold, what if she'd been seen as an outsider the way the other woman had? Some surgeons just didn't fit in at Seattle Grace, through no real fault of their own, and Teddy could understand how that would make working here hard. Then again some surgeons could go off and make things worse on themselves, which was their own faults, and that just wasn't a good idea in their line of work. A cardio-thoracic surgeon, someone who specialized in heart and lung transplants, couldn't afford to get themselves ostracized at one of the leading transplant hospitals on the west coast, and yet that was just what her colleague had done. From the moment the woman stepped through the front doors people glared and whispered behind her back. As a surgeon, as an attending, Teddy disapproved of the less then professional behavior; but as a close friend who loved Callie dearly she wanted to hate the woman just on principal.

Teddy was standing at the nurse's station looking over a chart for another patient because she'd needed a breather. Erica Hahn was a brilliant surgeon but she was a bit of a terror to work with, and Teddy was pretty sure that being back here wasn't helping the other woman's attitude any. She'd spent the few hours she'd been at Seattle Grace barking orders at Teddy as if she were an intern and it was starting to wear thin on Teddy's last understanding nerve. Teddy was just glad that Callie had the next couple of days off. If they were lucky Erica would be long gone before Callie came back to work, sparing her friend any kind of weirdness. Closing her eyes, Teddy took a few deep breaths hoping to push away the impending headache that was building behind her eyes. With her eyes closed Teddy could hear the very distinct sound of heely sneakers on polished hospital floors. At first she thought it was her best friend, who even at her age was still wheeling around the hospital as if she were her daughters' ages, but then came the unmistakable voice of her ten year old niece.

"Aunt Teeedddyyyyy!" Josephine Robbins-Torres called out as she wheeled down the hall at full speed towards her aunt.

Teddy opened her eyes and turned to see her best friends' little girl barreling towards her with the brightest, most excited look on her face. Teddy couldn't help but smile. Bracing her self just in time, Teddy managed to catch Josie who all but crashed into her with a soft grunt. The girl wrapped her arms around Teddy in a huge bear hug and Teddy laughed as she returned the hug. "Hey Squirt!"

"Aunt Teddy guess what!" Josie said with so much enthusiasm that it was contagious.

"What?" Teddy said with bright eyes and a huge smile on her face.

Josie was beaming as she let go of her aunt so she could take something out of her backpack. It was an award certificate with a blue ribbon attached. "I won first place in my science fair!"

"That's great sweetheart!" Teddy replied as she pulled Josie into another hug. It had meant a lot to Teddy that Josie had come to her for help with her science project. Josie had wanted to do something on the human heart and Teddy had helped her put it together. They'd even made models out of modeling clay to show the actual size of an adult male and adult female heart.

"I got a gift card to Coldstone for winning." Josie said as she pulled out said gift card to show her aunt. "Since you helped me with my project I'd like to take you."

Teddy's bad day was completely forgotten as she smiled down at the sweet girl who looked so much like her best friend, not even the sudden interruption could break the spell Josie had on her.

"Doctor Altman." Doctor Erica Hahn said sharply. "We have a patient heading up to the OR. Are you still going to assist or has the arrival of your child switched your priorities? Because I need someone in that OR whose focused on my patient and not what flavor of ice cream to get."

It wasn't a leap to assume that Josie was hers. The girl had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, which she'd inherited from Arizona; what caused the anger to flash in Teddy's eyes was that the woman assumed that a woman couldn't be both a surgeon and a mother, and be damn good at both. It was in her tone; Teddy had heard it before from women who had chosen career over family. It was a slightly different tone, but no less condescending, then the one from the women who chose family over career. Jealous bitches, Teddy thought.

Josie did not like the way this woman was speaking to her aunt, but she knew better then to be disrespectful to an adult, so she tried hard to bite her tongue. But as sapphire blue eyes narrowed as Josie watched the other doctor glare at her aunt in a very disrespectful way trying flew out the window. Just as Teddy was about to speak up Josie cut in. "My Aunt Teddy is the best cardio-thoracic surgeon ever and if she's going to operate on your patient today then that's a lucky patient, and your lucky too cause you get to work with her."

Erica looked at Josie as if she were a bug before looking at Teddy. "You're wasting time and this isn't even your child?"

"No," A new voice piped in. "She's mine." To say Callie was surprised to see her ex standing there would have been an understatement. She hadn't seen Erica since Erica walked out of her life a lifetime ago. Callie looked into the other woman's eyes for a long moment and instantly wondered where the woman she'd know had gone, because wasn't seeing her in those icy eyes. "Hello Erica."

"Doctor Torres." Erica replied.

Callie smiled warmly before turning up that smiled when she looked down at her daughter. "Ok, mija, you told her now lets get going." She held out her left hand and noticed Erica's eyes flick to it as Josie took it. Since she wasn't working she was wearing her engagement ring as well as her wedding band. The set was beautiful and hard to miss. "Aunt Teddy's needed upstairs."

"What about Coldstone?" Josie asked, as she looked between her Mommy and her aunt.

Teddy beamed. "I would be honored to share your science fair reward, Squirt. If it's ok with your moms, I'll pick you up tonight after dinner and we'll make an evening of it? I could use a girl's night out after the day I've had."

Josie glared at the woman behind her aunt, somehow she just knew the bad day her beloved aunt Teddy was having was her fault, but then turned up the beaming smile as she looked up at her Mommy. "Mommy? Please?"

Callie chuckled. The look she was getting was pure Arizona and hard to say no too. "It's ok with me but we need to check with Mama to make sure she doesn't have any plans, ok?"

"Ok." Josie said before turning and smiling at her aunt. She let go of her Mom's hand so she could hug Teddy again. "Thank you for helping me."

"Anytime Squirt." Teddy replied. She gave a little wave and watched as Callie and Josie walked off before turning to Erica who was still watching Callie. Teddy frowned. "The OR Doctor Hahn?"

"Yes, of course." Erica said as she walked beside Teddy as they headed for the elevator. They were silent until the doors closed. "So Callie has a kid?"

"I'm not disusing Callie with you." Teddy said as she turned to look at the other cardio-thoracic surgeon. "I know I only have one side of the story, but Callie's my friend and hers is the only side that matters to me. So yeah, I'm not talking about Callie with you."

Josie heelyed into peds and quickly looked around for her Mama. She saw the older blonde talking to the parents of one of her patients so she waited by the nurse's station. She smiled brightly when her Mommy came up behind her and pulled her close so they could wait on Mama together. Josie rested her head back against her Mommy and smiled. Sophie was at volleyball practice and Mac was down in daycare which meant Josie got her moms all to herself for a quiet moment. With her sister acting more like a teenager and her brother being a toddler, quiet moments were few and far between. Josie's smile brightened when her Mama turned and saw them standing there, a bright smile appearing on her own face.

"Well this is a welcome surprise." Arizona said as she walked over. She leaned in and kissed Callie on the lips before placing a kiss on Josie's forehead. "What are my girls up too?"

"I won, Mama!" Josie said as she started to bounce on the balls of her feet. "I got first place!"

"You did?" Arizona said brightly, proudly. When Josie nodded she pulled the girl into her arms for a tight hug. "That so awesome baby girl! I'm so proud of you!"

Josie was beaming. "I asked Aunt Teddy to share my Coldstone gift card. She said we could go tonight after dinner. Is that ok? Mommy said we had to check to make sure you didn't have any plans."

"It's fine with me." Arizona said as she smiled down at her baby girl, her hands cupping Josie's cheeks. "You two worked really hard on that project and I think a night out as a reward is a great idea."

"Cool!" Josie replied as she turned to her Mommy and held out her hand. "Phone please."

Callie laughed as she handed her daughter her blackberry. She laughed a little harder when the tip of Josie's tongue poked out as she scrolled through the contact list to find Teddy's number so she could send her aunt a text message. "Let her know dinner's at six and she's welcome to join us if she'd like."

"Ok." Josie said as she carefully composed the text message. After she was sure it was sent she held the phone back out to her Mommy. "Thank you." Then the rush of excitement hit her again. "Can I go find Aunt Lexie and Daddy? I wanna tell them too!"

Arizona nodded. "Sure baby. Daddy's working in his lab so don't bust in on him. He's working on a skin graft. Aunt Lexie's working with her interns today in the skills lab."

"Awesome!" If it were possible Josie just got even more amped up. "Aunt Lexie always lets me play with Stan!"

"You have an hour, Josephine." Callie warned. "Then we have to go pick up Sophie and head home to start dinner. One hour and I want you back here, usted entiende?"

Josie nodded her head as she kicked off and started rolling down the hall. "Si, Mommy, I understand."

Arizona watched as their daughter wheeled off down the hall and around a corner before turning to look at her wife. She bit her lip as she wondered if she should bring up what she'd been hearing throughout the hospital about their visitor. When Callie turned to look at her she smiled.

"Relax, Zo." Callie said with a warm, reassuring smile. "I know Erica's here. I just saw her. She was giving Teddy a hard time over Josie."

That caused Arizona's smile to quickly melt into a frown. "What do you mean she was giving Teddy a hard time over Josie?"

"She thought Josie was Teddy's." Callie explained as the two began walking off towards their favorite on-call room. "She's apparently one of those women surgeons." Callie shrugged at the questioning look she was getting. "Anyway, I said hi she said hi and that was that."

Arizona wasn't sure if that was that at all. The woman had avoided Seattle Grace for the better part of nearly two decides for a reason. She was willing to let it go though because she knew that for Callie at least the past was the past. She knew without any doubts that she was Callie's now and her forever.

An hour later Josie was waiting at the Peds nurses station showing Ally, Anne, and Rose her new rubber ducks. Josie collected rubber ducks, she thought they were the coolest things ever and her room was full of them. The hospital's gift shop had gotten some new designs, a duck in dark attending scrubs, a new nurse duck, and a duck with a surgical mask and scalpel.

"What do you got there, mija?" Callie asked as she and Arizona walked towards the nurses' station. She had Mac in her arms and his bag on her shoulder.

"Ducks." Josie answered. She held up her three new additions to show her moms. "Aunt Lexie bought them for me for winning first place." She quickly withdrew her ducks and put them safely back in the bag when her baby brother reached for them. No way did she want baby drool on and teeth marks in her ducks.

Callie chuckled and shook her head as she teased her girls. "What is up with the two of you and this weird thing you have for edible birds?" She laughed harder when her girls just glared at her. Josie did not like to be reminded that ducks could be eaten. "Ready to go mija?"

Josie nodded. "Yeap." She gave her Mama a tight hug. "See you at home, Mama."

"I'll be right behind you in a few hours." Arizona said as she kissed the top of her daughter's head before kissing her baby boy. "Bye little man."

"Bye-bye." Mac said as he waved. Then he looked down at his sister from his Mommy's arms. He held out his chubby little hand as he said, "Ducks, Joee."

"No way." Josie said as their moms kissed goodbye. "They're mine, Mac. You have your own duck at home."

Mac pouted. "Pwese?"

"No." Josie said with a frown.

After picking Sophie up from her practice Callie drove her kids home. The whole ride home she listened as Josie told her big sister all about the science fair, and about how she was so nervous and scared when she had to explain her project to the principal, a teacher and a parent who were all acting as judges. Sophie listened and smiled, and told her baby sister how proud she was of her. It brought a smile to Callie's face. She could remember all the times she'd gone to her own sister with not just all her good news, but all her bad as well. Aria had always been there for Callie with one very notable and very painful exception. When Callie came out to their father and Carols had cut her off from her family, when Aria had sided with him instead of her, it had fractured their relationship. She and Aria had made up, and Aria had been there for her ever since, but like a broken bone, years later you could still see evidence of the break on an x-ray. Callie hoped and prayed that her girls would never break like that. She promised them and herself that she would never put them in the kind of position that her father had put her and Aria in.

"Ok mijas," Callie said as they pulled into the garage. "Chores, the faster those get done the more time you have to chill before dinner." Her girls called out "OK Mommy," in unison and dashed off to change out their school uniforms as soon as she had the door open. As they stomped up the stairs Mac laughed. "Silly girls." Callie said as she tickled his tummy before sitting him on his feet once the door was closed behind them. Callie smiled when she heard Sophie ask Josie if she wanted to take Rosie and Grey, their two Siberian huskies, out for a walk rather then just let them out in their massive backyard. Josie's squeal of joy over spending one on one time with her big sister made Callie laugh. She laughed even harder when the red and white and grey and white shedding machines parked themselves at the bottom of the stairs to wait.

Arizona had been stricken with puppy love when she'd gone with Teddy, who at the time had been trying to curb her desire for a baby, and sooth the sting of another failed relationship, by getting a puppy, to look at different rescue places. While Teddy had gone the Germen Shepherd route, Arizona had mentioned on more then one occasion that she'd always had a soft spot for huskies. She told Callie about a beautiful litter of husky puppies she'd gotten attached too when she was about six and her Dad was stationed in Alaska for a year. She'd hated the cold and snow, but the puppies had made that particular deployment bearable. So after that Callie had spent two months researching the breed and local breeders, and on Valentine's Day Callie drove Arizona out to the breeder she'd so carefully selected and once Arizona came down from her euphoric high they'd picked out the cutest little red and white puppy either had ever seen. Arizona named her Rosie because of her coloring and because of the day. A year and half later with their girls in tow they returned to the same breeder because her three girls convinced Callie that Rosie needed a friend. The girls picked out the only gray and white pup in litter and proceed to name him Grey, not because of his coloring, but because he reminded them of their Aunts. Callie didn't get it so that night as their babies slept all cuddled up with Roise and Grey on the floor of their living room, Arizona explained. "He's all bouncy and eager to please and kinda pushy like Lexie, and when he tried to be all growly and stuff he look all dark and twisty like Meredith."

"I want Grey!" Josie said as she came barreling down the stairs. She dashed to the coat rack on the wall where the dogs leashes were hanging and grabbed the hunter green leash with Grey's named embroidered on it.

Sophie was rolling her eyes as she came down the stairs. Walking over to join her sister she grabbed the ruby red leash with Rosie's name on it.

"Alright you two." Callie said as sternly as she could muster. "Don't let this turn into an epic walk. Neither of you are going anywhere after dinner if your rooms aren't clean."

"You clean or Mama clean?" Sophie asked as she clipped the leash to Rosie's collar. There was a difference between what Mommy accepted as clean, and what their Marine raised Mama accepted as clean.

"How about a happy in-between clean." Callie answered as she tried not to roll her eyes. Turning to look at her antsy ten year old she warned, "Josephine Torres, do not let that dog pull you down the street on those damn shoes."

Josie pouted. How'd her Mommy know she was going to do that?

"I mean it." Callie warned.

"Ok." Josie replied with a roll of her eyes.

Callie nodded and then added, "Don't forget poop bags, and don't think this gets you two out of cleaning the yard tomorrow."

It wasn't like they lived out in the middle of nowhere like their Uncle Derek and Aunt Meredith, but it was close. Trees surrounded their house and they had lots of land, which meant their closest neighbors were a good twenty-minute walk away. Josie walked beside her sister as they made their way down the long drive to the freshly put in sidewalk and then kicked back on her heels and rolled as Grey pulled.

"Mommy said not to do that." Sophie pointed out with a gentle smirk. She'd known her sister was going to do that. Her little sister liked pushing her limits more then Sophie did, and Josie was more open about doing it. Sure Sophie was testing the waters with her parents, she was thirteen after all, but she wasn't nearly as blatant as Josie.

"Mommy said not to let Grey pull me down the street." Josie replied with a bright smile that showed off her dimples. "I'm not in the street. I'm on the sidewalk."

Sophie laughed and shook her head. "You know she wasn't being that literal, and you know she can see us from Mac's room."

Josie looked over her shoulder at their house and then broken into the run stop that would stop her rolling. She didn't want to risk her Moms not letting her go with her Aunt Teddy so she went back to walking beside her sister. "Well phooey."

Back at the hospital Arizona had been pulled into an emergency surgery on a twelve year old who'd been brought in by his mother because he'd been having chest pains. The poor kid was having a heart attack, at twelve, and Arizona couldn't stop shaking her head over it. "He's twelve. He's just a little boy."

"A sedentary lifestyle isn't any better for a kid then it is an adult." Teddy said as she and Arizona worked together fluidly. She had been nearly finished with assisting Hahn so when one of the residents came in telling her that Arizona needed her she had no problem leaving Christina to help her former teacher finish up.

"I swear I'm going home and disconnecting the x-box and padlocking access to all the computers." Arizona said with another shake of her head. "I'm tossing out all the junk food and making everyone go for a walk."

Teddy laughed. "Never mind the girls' reaction to that plan. I don't think Callie would be very happy if you took away her x-box. Didn't that new game she's been obsessing about just come out?"

That got a giggle from the blonde peds surgeon. "Yeah. She took the girls down to the game store at midnight to buy it."

Up in the gallery Erica Hahn watched the surgery below. It hadn't been easy to find out anything, this place was still so damn clicky, but one of her scrub nurses was new enough not to be aware of her past there, and despite the evil looks from Yang was willing to answer Erica's questions. Apparently Callie and the woman below in the pink Holly Hobby scrub cap have been together for fifteen years, married for thirteen, had three kids and was living happy every after in the woods somewhere. She had often thought of Callie over the years, wondered what she was doing, if she were happy. She'd even followed Callie's career through her publications, and had nearly sent her something for winning the Harper Avery for her cartilage work. It was because Callie's work had been so amazing over the years that this, this domesticity, was so shocking. Erica wasn't sure if she was happy for Callie or disappointed, and if it was disappointment was it because she felt Callie had sold out, or because she'd missed out?

"Oh, did you see that stitch that Blondie just did?" Christina said from her seat beside Meredith. "I have got to get her to teach me that!"

Meredith chuckled. "Are you ever going to stop being a surgical whore?"

"Nope, never, it's what I do." Christina replied.

Even Yang seemed to admire the blonde and Erica knew that impressing Yang was a feat of it's own. Turning away from the gallery window Erica ignored the looks she was getting from Yang and Grey. She had a patient to check on. The sooner he was on the mend the sooner she could leave.

"So," Arizona said softly. "That was her?"

Teddy nodded. "Yeap, that was her."

"Was she checking me out?" Arizona asked.

Again Teddy nodded. "I think she was."

"Creepy much." Arizona said with a brief glance up to where Erica had been standing.

A few days later Callie was leaning against her car waiting on Arizona to get off her shift. She would have gone in to wait but she'd been off for four days and spent three of them at the hospital for one reason or the other, so now she had a bet going with Mark that she could go a whole day without setting foot in Seattle Grace –Mercy West. He was so going to owe her dinner for two at a restaurant of her and Arizona's choice. She was making a short list of the most expensive places they both liked when she caught sight of a different blonde walking out the front doors of the hospital.

"You're still driving the Thunderbird." Erica says as she stopped in front of Callie.

Callie gives the other woman a lopsided grin. "Yeah, I'm not really the mini-van type of mom."

Erica nodded as if that made perfect sense and yet, "But you are a mom."

"I am." Callie replied as she stood up and shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. "Three kids, two dogs, a wife, and a mortgage and I couldn't be happier."

"A wife." Erica said the word as if it tasted strange in her mouth. "So I guess you were more into girls then you thought." Before Callie could reply Erica asked, "Would you have chosen them over her?"

"Never." Callie answered without even having to think it over. "Is that why you left the way you did? You thought I was choosing them over you?"

"Weren't you?" Erica asked.

Callie thought about it and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess I was." There was a moment of silence before she said, "I'm glad you stopped, Erica. I wanted to tell you thank you."

Erica didn't even try to hide her surprise. "You're thanking me? For what?"

"You were kind of a catalyst for me, Erica, a key in the door." Callie said softly. "If I hadn't fallen for you, I might not have known I could fall for her. And believe it or not I did love you, like I loved George." She paused a moment. She had loved before, but never so completely, and never had it felt so real and right as it did with Arizona. "If we hadn't been together there wouldn't have been any talk for her to hear. If you hadn't left me, I wouldn't have been crying in the bathroom at Joe's, she wouldn't have followed me in, and she wouldn't have kissed me. So yeah, I want to thank you."

Erica sort of half sighed and half snorted. "You never looked like this before."

"Looked like what?" Callie asked with a raised brow.

"You glow, Callie." Erica said softly. "You're so damn happy you glow. You really love her."

"She's not just my person, Erica, she's my everything." Callie said.

Erica gave the other woman a warm smile. "I'm glad it all worked out for you, Callie."

Callie returned the smile. "I hope it will all work out for you too, Erica."

As Erica walked off Callie went back to leaning on her car. Seeing the loneliness in Erica's eyes, watching Teddy once again fumble her way through one bad relationship after another, it made Callie realize just how blessed she was. Not everyone got to find the love of their life let alone have a life with them. She really did think that she and Arizona had been made for each other. How could they not be? They'd made it through so much together and they'd always came out of each trail and tribulation stronger, closer, and more in love. A squeal sliced through the night air that made Callie shake off her thoughts and smile.

"Mommy!" Josie yelled as she came running towards her mom. "Help!"

Callie couldn't help but laugh. Arizona was chasing after their daughter, who Callie had sent into the hospital to get Arizona, and Josie was half squealing, half laughing as she ducked behind her to hide.

"That was my last peanut butter cup!" Arizona said as she tried to playfully reach behind her wife to get at her daughter. Her blue eyes were sparkling with humor as she tried not to giggle.

"Josie, did you eat Mama's candy?" Callie asked as she turned, working as a barrier between her two blue-eyed blondes.

"She did." Arizona answered before Josie could.

Callie laughed as she suddenly stepped out of the way. "Sorry mija, I can't get in the middle of peanut butter cup wars."

Josie yelped as her Mama reached for her and started tickling her. The girl wiggled and giggled until she managed to break out of her Mama's arms. Callie watched blissfully as her girls played. She knew that after long days like this Arizona needed little moments like this, and Callie was more then happy to let it go on for a little while longer. Finally, before hospital security could come out and tell them to knock it off, she called out, "If I promise to buy you each a peanut butter up with you get in the car?"

Two blonde heads snapped towards her, and two sets of dimples popped as Mama and daughter called out, "Yeap!"

That night was movie night and after putting Mac to bed Callie and Arizona settled on the couch with their girls. Since it was Sophie's turn to pick they ended up watching Oceans again, which neither mom minded because they both knew that at a certain point they'd get some massive cuddles from their daughters. Sure enough when it got to the part where the shark pops out to eat the seal Josie was burying her face into her Mommy's side. A few seconds later when it was an orca whale eating a seal it was Sophie pressing her face into her Mama's shoulder. As they're girls clung to them Callie and Arizona looked up at each other and smiled. Callie mouthed I love you, and Arizona beamed. Arizona mouthed I loved you, and Callie did indeed glow.


	9. Age Ten: Doctors Doctors Everywhere

Seattle Grace – Mercy West was a huge hospital with lots of places for someone to hide, and plenty of space for someone to keep several steps ahead of people looking for them. Most of the doctors, nurses, and other such staff tended to forget just how large the hospital had grown over the years because they tended to stay in their wings, or on their floors, or in their wards. Surgeons tended to be a little more free-range then most others. They crossed areas and departments easily, but even they didn't know every inch of the hospital. The only ones who seemed to know every nook and cranny of the hospital were the children of said surgeons, which is way it was incredibly hard to find one who decided to hide, especially one as adventures as Josephine Robbins-Torres. Josie was willing to go into places and explore areas that even the older kids like her sister Sophie and her cousin Christopher wouldn't. This made things very challenging for her parents when Josie decided to hide from them.

Doctor Callie Robbins-Torres came charging down the stairs by the surgical floor's main board and nurses' station. She was slightly out of breath and had a rather cross look on her pretty face. She scanned the area for a few moments before walking over to the nurses' station where she proceeded to look under the desks. From where she stood by the board Doctor Miranda Bailey watched as her friend started opening a near by supply closet. The older, shorter surgeon was trying really hard not to look amused. "Is there something in particular that you're looking for Doctor Torres?"

Callie spun on her heel to look at Bailey and heaved a heavy sigh. "Yeah, one seriously grounded ten year old. Have you seen her?"

A smile tugged at Bailey's lips as she shook her head. "No, I didn't even know she was in the hospital today."

"She has an appointment with Doctor Cooper in an hour." Callie said as she blew a strand of dark hair out of her face. "We've already spent the last fifteen minutes looking for her."

"If that child doesn't want to be found she isn't going to be found." Bailey said with an amount of certainly in her voice that made Callie groan. "She knows this hospital better then any of us."

Again the Latina mother groaned. "Don't remind me." She sighed softly. "If you happen to come across my child. Sit on her and have someone page me?"

Bailey laughed. "I'll keep my eyes open."

Downstairs near the main entrance and off to the left at the main nurses' station Doctor Meredith Grey stood looking over a patient's chart. She was so engrossed in looking over the most recent test results that she didn't notice her younger sister step up next to her until she heard Lexie's voice in her ear.

"I lost my husband's kid." Lexie said in a low, secretive voice.

Meredith nearly jumped. Turning her head to look at her sister she blinked. "What?"

"I lost my husband's kid." Lexie repeated in that self-defeated tone of voice she had.

Lexie had that big-eyed naughty puppy look that made Meredith want to shake the younger woman. "Which one?"

"Josie." Lexie answered. "I picked her up from day camp because Mark, Callie and Arizona were all in surgery until about half an hour ago, and she has an appointment with the pediatrician in like an hour. We got on the elevator to head up to the attendings' lounge to wait on Callie or Arizona to come get her, and then the elevator got crowded. By the time we got to the third floor I was alone on the elevator."

Meredith laughed hard. She couldn't help it. "You didn't loose her, Lexie. You got ditched."

"I got ditched." Lexie sighed in defeat.

Reaching over Meredith put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "She's around here somewhere, Lex. Think like a ten year old. Where would you go to hide in a hospital?"

"I wouldn't have done something like this as a ten year old." Lexie complained with a pout.

Again Meredith laughed. "Ok, think like me as a ten year old, well kind of like me. Josie isn't all dark and twisty, way to much Robbins in that kid to ever be dark and twisty. Her parents are all surgeons, right? So the best places to avoid her parents would be the places you'd never find a surgeon. Try the morgue."

"Places you'd never find a surgeon." Lexie repeated as she thought about it for a moment. "Right." She paused and looked at her sister oddly. "The morgue? Meredith, that's dark and twisty." She rolled her eyes at her sister and took off down the hall.

"Good luck!" Meredith called out as she watched her sister walk off with a shake of her head and a bright smile plastered on her face. Lexie was good with Mark's kids, she loved them and they loved her, but it wasn't much of a secret that Lexie didn't come across as parental. In the chain of command, Calzona was the chief, Mark was a resident and poor Lexie was still an intern.

After checking with a couple of her long term patients who Josie had become friends with Doctor Arizona Robbins-Torres made her way down to the basement tunnels to look for her daughter. When it was raining or to cold to go outside she and Josie raced on their heelys down there and she was kind of hoping to find her daughter down there now. As she checked the old storage rooms she couldn't help but smile despite her irritation. Even after all these years she found the idea of her wife, her Calliope who was use to a certain amount of comfort, living in one of these rooms as a resident rather funny.

"Are you picturing me dancing around in my underwear again?"

Arizona jumped with a startled yelp. "Calliope!" She scolded as she spun around to face her wife with a hand on chest.

Callie couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry." Then she gave her beautiful blonde wife a megawatt smile. "So, were you?"

"Shut up." Arizona huffed, but the sparkle in her eyes told Callie that yes she had in fact been picturing her dancing around the room in her underwear. "No sign of her?"

Callie shook her head. "Mark and Lexie are still looking. I thought maybe she was down here rolling around on those damn shoes you two wear."

"No sign of her down here, and heelys are still awesome." Arizona replied as she checked her watch. "We only have half an hour before her appointment. Should we have her paged over the pa system?"

"She wouldn't respond." Callie answered as she held her hand out to her wife. Her lips twitched into a flash of a smile when Arizona took her hand and laced their fingers together. "She isn't coming out on her own until after it's to late to see Doctor Cooper."

Arizona just shook her head as they walked hand in hand towards the elevators. "I just don't understand why she hates seeing the pediatrician so much. I mean for goodness sake I'm a freaking pediatrician!"

"No," Callie said with a smirk. "You're a pediatric surgeon. You don't do little diseases on little people. You do big surgeries on little people."

"Shut up outbreak monkey." Arizona teased back with a roll of her eyes.

"Hi." Mark said as he flashed the nurse behind the desk a roguish smile. "Have you seen a kid around here? A little girl, ten years old, blonde with her hair in braided pig tails, the most stunning dark blue eyes you've ever seen. She's wearing jeans, a white and gray stripped t-shirt with a rubber duck on the front that reads fear me I have a rubber duck, and heely sneakers?"

The nurse shook her head and smiled. "No Doctor Sloan, sorry. I haven't seen Josie today."

"I thought you stopped hitting on nurses when you married my little sister-in-law?" Derek teased as he came up to his oldest and closest friend.

Mark let out a long breath. "Is it weird that people I don't even know, know who my kid is?"

"It's a little weird." Derek agreed with a nod. "They do it with ours too and it makes Meredith a little paranoid."

"Everything makes Meredith a little paranoid." Mark replied. "And I wasn't hitting on anyone. Josie's trying to avoid her check up. Do you think they'd put one of those GPS tracking tags in a kid? Ya know, like the ones they put in dogs and cats?"

Derek raised a brow and looked at his friend oddly. "You want to low-jack your kid? Now who's being paranoid?"

So if surgeons were on the extreme end of the spectrum then dermatologists were way down at the other end. Lexie knew for a fact that her sister and Christina loved to make fun of the people in Derm, so if she were thinking like a ten-year-old not so dark and twisty version of her sister then to avoid the surgeons that Josie was avoiding Derm would be a good place to start. Right? "Excuse me." She said gently as she stepped up to the desk. "I know this might seem like an odd question, but have you noticed any random children just sort of hanging around?"

"Oh, you mean little Josie Torres?" The young woman behind the desk asked.

Lexie's eyes went wide before she blinked in surprise. "Yes, actually, that's exactly who I mean. She's here?"

The woman gave Lexie a bright smile. "She was, she left awhile ago."

Rats. "Did she happen to mention where she was going?" The woman shook her head and Lexie sighed. "Thanks. If she comes back will you please page me or her mothers?"

"Of course." The women replied.

Lexie left Derm trying to think of where Josie would go next. As she was thinking her iPhone pinging distracted her. Pulling it from her pocket she noticed that it was her turn in one of her words with friends games. She absentmindedly tapped the icon and then on the game waiting for her move. Lexie stopped walking. It was the game she was playing with Josie. Tapping the upper corner icon to flip the board into the chat window she typed, 'Where are you?' before going back to the board and using her tiles.

'Here'

'Here where?'

'In the hospital. Is antitheist really a word?'

'Yes. Where in the hospital?'

If Josie was playing then she had to have either one of her moms' iPods or one of their iPads. Lexie took off at a run for the attendings' lounge because that's where they keep their bags. When she came bursting in she caused Teddy and Addison's heads to snap up. When Teddy was about to say something Lexie hushed her. She'd been so busy trying to think like Meredith, who'd grown up in the hospital almost the same way Josie did, that she forgot the almost part. Josie was actually close to her mothers, and if the girl was feeling anxious about her doctor's appointment, if she was feeling a little scared, she'd want to be close to her mothers while she was actually avoiding them. Walking over to Arizona's cubby she tried the bottom locker, which was more then large enough to hide a small ten year old. It was locked. Callie's however wasn't.

"Josephine Torres!" Lexie scolded. "We have been searching this hospital for almost an hour looking for you!"

Josie looked up at her step-mother from her hiding place inside her Mommy's locker. She frowned at the tone Lexie used and was unaware of her godmother's presence. "Close the door Aunt Lexie! I'm not going to the stupid doctor! And you can't tell anyone I'm here!"

"Josephine Daniela Robbins-Torres." Addison said as she got up from where she was sitting and moved into the child's line of sight. "I know I did not just hear you speak to an adult like that. Young lady, you're step-mother just told you to come out of there, so you'd better come out, now."

Lexie gave the tall redhead a look of appreciation and frustration. Josie responded to Addison in more of a parental way then she did to her. Maybe this was her own fault? She had been the one who made the choice not to act as a third mother to the kids. She couldn't be the fun aunt, the friend, and be a parent too, could she?

"Yes Aunt Addie." Josie said softly as she wiggled herself out of the locker.

Addison was giving Lexie a look that said to go ahead, but Lexie didn't really know where to go with this. "Can you text Callie or Arizona and tell them she's here."

"Already done." Teddy said from where she sat. "Arizona came to me a hour ago looking for her."

Josie had the good sense to drop her head.

Lexie looked at Josie for a moment before looking back up at the other two women. "Can you give us a minute?"

Addison nodded. "Sure." She shot her goddaughter a look before nodding towards the door for Teddy to follow her out.

When they were alone Lexie gently tugged Josie over to one of the love seats and pulled the girl down to sit beside her. "I don't get it, Josie. Nearly every adult in your life is a doctor. Why do you always fight so hard against seeing your doctor?"

"I don't know." Josie said with a shrug of her shoulders. "It's just different. I don't like going to the doctors, ok?"

It was just different? Lexie thought that over for a few moments and then something clicked and she felt like smacking herself on the forehead. "We're all doctors but you don't see us like that, do you? Your moms are your just your moms, your dad is just your dad, and I'm just me."

Josie nodded.

"So even for a kid who's surrounded by doctors, going to the doctor can still be kind of scary." Lexie said as she put her arm around Josie and pulled her close to her side. "You have to go see this person who is practically a stranger, who's going to get all up in your personal space and more then likely stick you with something sharp."

Josie looked up at her aunt and nodded again.

Lexie nodded as she looked down into Josie's watery blue eyes. "I remember when I was little, I didn't like going to the doctor either. The doctor was all up in my space, touching me, and sticking things in my ears and my mouth, and up my nose, and then he'd talk to my parents instead of me. It made me feel kind of powerless, kind of out of control of the situation."

Josie's eyes got wide. That was it exactly! She nodded again.

"Do you know how you can feel a little more in control of the situation?" Lexie asked her stepdaughter as she brushed her thumb over Josie's cheek.

"How?" Josie asked.

Lexie smiled. "Ask questions. I know you know what a stethoscope is and how it works because you've been playing with them since you were old enough to grasp things. And I know you know what an otoscope is, and how an x-ray works, but when the doctor uses those things ask him what he's looking for, or what he's listening for. When he puts his hands on your neck like this," She placed her hands on Josie's neck as if she were checking the girl's glands. "Ask him why he's doing it and what he's feeling for. When he tests your reflexes with the little hammer, ask him why your leg jumps. When he says he's going to take blood, ask him what kind of tests he's doing and what those tests are looking for."

Josie listened carefully. She had no problems with asking her grow ups question about stuff like that but it had honestly never crossed her mind to ask her doctor questions. "He won't mind if I ask him a bunch of questions? He'll answer them?"

"If he's a good doctor for kids, he won't mind and he'll answer." Lexie replied with a reassuring smile. "If he's a good doctor for kids he'll understand that doctors can be scary for kids and that talking to them and answering their questions helps."

"How do you know?" Josie asked. "I mean, how do you know good doctors for kids will do that? And how do we know he's a good doctor?"

"I've seen the really good doctors for kids do that." Lexie explained. "I've gotten to work with your Mama, and she does that."

"She does?" Josie asked.

Lexie nodded. "She lets her kids ask all kinds of questions and she answers every one. She talks to them not at them. And if your moms picked this doctor for you then he must be a good one, because they would never ever take you to a bad doctor. I bet he just doesn't know that you want him to talk to you the way you need him to, so you have to let him know."

Josie thought about everything Lexie was saying and then finally nodded her head. "Ok, I guess"

"I know you're feeling really nervous and kind of scared." Lexie said as she titled Josie's head up to look at her. "And we could have helped you feel better sooner if you had come to us, Josie. You should have said something to your moms or to your dad or to me, instead of running off and hiding."

"Mommy said I was just being silly this morning." Josie said softly.

In the doorway Callie flinched. She and Arizona had been standing there listening for a while now. She'd been ready to burst in with a Spanish rant on her lips, but Arizona stopped her with a hand on her arm, so they could see how Lexie handled this. If she'd known Josie was really scared and not just being fussy about it she would have never said that. Like everyone else she'd never expected Josie to be scared of a doctor because she was always around them.

"I bet she just didn't understand." Lexie told Josie as she brushed her pigtail off her shoulder. "I didn't understand until like what two minutes ago? We just assumed you'd be use to doctors and didn't understand that doctors are scary even to the kids of doctors. We're not mind readers, Josie. We need you to talk to us. If you're scared of something, if you have a fear of something, tells us." Lexie thought about that a moment and then made a face. "I guess we haven't really showed you how to do that, huh? We don't really openly admit to having our own fears, at least in front of you kids, but we do, and we do talk about it to each other. Your Dad and me, we talk to each other, and your moms they talk to each other. It's ok to come to one of us, Josie, it helps, trust me, Ok?"

Again the little girl thought about it. After several long minutes she finally nodded. "Ok." She paused a moment and then said. "But my Dad's not scared of anything. Well, cept for centipedes, and owls, owls kinda creep him out."

Lexie chuckled softly as she pulled Josie onto her lap and hugged her. "He has other fears too. Everyone does, Josie. Fear isn't a bad thing. It actually keeps us from doing stupid stuff sometimes."

"Like when I was too scared to jump off the garage roof." Josie said as she wrapped her arms around Lexie's neck and hugged her tight.

Lexie laughed. "Yeah, like that."

Josie was quiet for a few moments as she processed everything Lexis had said to her. Then she hugged her again. "Thanks Aunt Lexie, and I'm sorry I ran off."

"You're welcome sweetheart, and next time you won't, right?" Lexie replied as she returned the girl's hug.

"Right." Josie agreed. When she pulled back so she could look into her aunt's face she asked. "Am I in trouble?"

"Oh yeah." Lexie said with a nod. "You are so grounded."

"So very grounded." Callie agreed, causing both Lexie and Josie to jump.

Arizona smiled as she held out her hand. "Come on trouble. We can still make your appointment."

Josie sighed but got up from Lexie's lap and walked over to take her Mama's hand.

Callie smiled at Lexie. "Nicely done Little Grey."

"Thanks." Lexie breathed out as her whole body relaxed.

Josie still hadn't been sure about talking to her pediatrician as she sat on the exam table, but after taking a quick look over his shoulder and getting a reassuring nod from her mothers she dared to ask her first question. After that everything went smoothly until the doctor said he'd like to draw blood. If her Mommy hadn't have grabbed her, Josie would have bolted out the door as soon as the doctor left the room to send in a nurse. When the nurse came in she agreed to let Josie sit on her Mommy's lap, and while Callie held her arm out, Arizona turned her head so Josie would be looking at her rather then what the nurse was doing. There were tears in Josie's eyes before the nurse could even touch her with the needle, and when she did finally prick her Josie whimpered. Arizona wiped the tears from her baby girl's cheeks and kissed her forehead, the look she was getting and the sounds Josie was making was breaking her heart. As soon as the nurse was finished and Josie was sporting a Hello Kitty band-aide Callie wrapped her arms around her little girl and hugged her tight. She hadn't liked that any more then Arizona had.

For most of the drive home everyone was pretty quiet, each lost in her own thoughts. While they were stopped at a stop light Callie looked at Josie through the rear view. "Mija," She said gently. "I'm sorry about what I said this morning. Aunt Lexie was right. Mama and I didn't understand how you were feeling."

"It's ok, Mommy." Josie replied from the back seat. She gave her Mommy a reassuring smile before going back to playing with her baby brother. When they got home her Mama told her she needed to go up to her room since she was grounded over the stunt she pulled. She didn't mind too much because she would have gone to her room anyway to write to her Abuelo. Like her Mommy, she talked to him every Sunday, and they emailed and skyped but hand written letters was something special just between them. Plus it helped Josie with her reading and writing in Spanish. She told him all about how she'd grown two whole inches and about her week in general.

Downstairs Callie was leaning against the kitchen counter with Arizona's arms around her neck. "She's always talked to us before."

"She's growing up." Arizona said with a slight pout on her lips.

Callie shook her head and sighed. She was quiet for a moment before gently laughing. "I tried running off from the doctor once. Our family doctor didn't actually do labs and stuff in office so we had to go across to the actual hospital. While my Mom was checking me in I walked out the front door with every intention of walking home."

Arizona raised a brow as she smirked at her wife. "How far did you get?"

"Just down the street. Aria ratted me out." Callie said with a chuckle. "When my Mom caught up to me she popped me on the behind and drug me back. I got it again when I got home too."

"I mainly saw military doctors when I was her age. I was a little older then Sophie when I started seeing a civilian doctor." Arizona said after listening to Callie's story. "I never had the chance to duck out. Plus, I loved being at the hospital. There was so much cool stuff to play with."

The idea of Arizona as a kid always made Callie smile and wonder how much of their girls mirrored what they were like at their ages. Sliding her arms around Arizona's waist Callie pulled the blonde closer so she could place a gentle kiss on her lips. "You were such a goody two shoes, weren't you?"

Arizona chuckled. "Until I was about fourteen and my Dad's way of life started to be kind of stifling."

"I don't even want to think about teenage rebellion." Callie said with a groan.

Arizona reached up and trailed her fingertip along Callie's bottom lip. "For now why don't we just worry about dinner."

Callie couldn't help but laugh. "Ya know before the babies that statement would have a totally different meaning."

There was a playful smile on the blonde's lip and a sparkle in her eyes. "Yes, but dessert can still mean what it use too. It'll just have to be a late dessert."

That sparkle reached Callie's eyes as she pulled Arizona in for another kiss. Callie loved how Arizona always touched her face when they kissed; she loved that simple yet intimate contact. Normally they were pretty good at stopping themselves before things got to steamy, but every once in awhile their passions got the better of them.

"Oh my god ewww." Sophie cried out as she walked into the kitchen. "Come on we eat in here."

Reluctantly Arizona and Callie pulled away and the both turned to look at their daughter. Callie was smirking as Arizona turned in her arms, but made no move to distance herself from her. "What's the matter mija? Don't you like knowing that your mommies still love each other so much after all these years together that they still find each other hot?"

"That's just gross." Sophie replied with a shake of her head that sent her raven ponytail whipping around her head. She sighed as she reached into the fridge for a bottle of water. "When are you two going to start acting your ages?"

Arizona snorted. "We're not a hundred and two, Soph."

"And even if we were, your Mama would still be hot." Callie added.

Sophie rolled her eyes and sighed in a way that only thirteen-year-old girls could sigh. "You two are hopeless." In reality Sophie did take comfort in knowing that her parents were still in love. She'd seen what break ups and divorce did to her friends and her friends' parents. Knowing that her moms were still in a really good place, knowing they loved each other even when they were arguing, it gave Sophie a real sense of security. "Just don't be all gropey and teenagery in public. I don't need my friends seeing that kinda thing. Parents aren't supposed to act like that."

Both women watched as their teenage daughter walked out of the room and then burst into pearls of laughter. After stealing one more kiss from her wife Callie went out to the deck to start the grill so she could make dinner, while Arizona took her turn at trying to convince Mac that the potty was his friend. When Arizona was finish with Mac they stopped at Josie's room. "Josie, come on downstairs baby. Mommy's decided it's to nice out to stay inside."

Josie smiled. "Ok Mama."

Once everyone was outside it didn't take long for the nerf guns to come out and another epic Robbins-Torres battle to ensue. When it came to nerf guns Arizona was just as much of a kid as her kids were. Josie had decided it was her turn to teach Mac how this game was played so she'd slipped off with her baby brother so she could show him how to sneak up on Sophie. The only problem was that at two Mac didn't really get that you needed to be quiet in order to be sneaky.

Callie listened to the popping of the nerf toys and the squeaks and laughs of her wife and children as they played in the yard and smiled. She was just about to join them when she felt a rubber tipped foam dart hit her right in the ass. "Girls!" She scolded as she turned. They knew not to play around on the deck when the grill was on so she was all ready to reprimand them but was stopped short when she found a grinning Arizona.

"Sorry, that was me." Arizona teased.

"Oh you're gonna get it now Robbins." Callie said as she made her way towards her wife with a playful smirk. Arizona was smirking as well as she slow backed away.

As soon as Callie was away from the deck she was pelted with nerf darts from three sides. Her kids had been waiting in ambush. All those years ago in the medical research lab when she'd told Arizona about her dream for the first time, this, this is what she'd been picturing. Only, maybe with fewer nerf darts.


	10. Age Eleven: Mother's Day

Just a quick one I wrote today for all the moms out there. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, those still here and those who have passed on.

~Reese

May 8th 2011

* * *

><p>A warm wash of sunlight swept over the bed that Callie and Arizona Robbins-Torres were cuddled in, it's bright rays caressing their arms, faces, and the one leg Callie had curled outside of their thinner spring blankets. It was the warmth and brightness of the light coming through their window that slowly began to pull Callie from her peaceful sleep, but it was the quiet that awakened her. Sure there were birds singing outside, giving thanks and praise for the sun and the spring, but her house was quiet. She and Arizona had three children, fourteen-year-old Sophie, eleven-year-old Josephine and three year old Timothy who they called Mac. The fact that they had a three year old meant that the house shouldn't be this quiet while the sun was out. Lifting her head to look over Arizona to the clock across the room Callie gasped. "Zo wake up!" Her blonde haired, blue-eyed wife moaned before burrowing deeper into her pillow. "Arizona, wake up!"<p>

"What?" Arizona groaned. "Calliope, it's mean to keep me awake for most of the night and then not let me sleep in."

"That's just it." Callie said as she rolled Arizona onto her back and then looked into her beautiful face. "It's nearly ten and we're still in bed."

Sapphire blue eyes suddenly popped open to meet warm brown eyes. "No way."

Callie laughed. "Yes way." She pointed to the clock and watched as Arizona slowly turned her head to look. When Arizona turned back to look at her there was an odd look on the blonde's face. "What?"

"It's too quiet." Arizona said after a moment of listening.

"I know, right?" Callie replied as she tossed their covers aside and reached for their robes.

"You don't think they've eaten each other do you?" Arizona asked as she slipped into her navy blue silk robe. Though it was her rode, she'd gotten it for Callie. She knew how much Callie loved the way her eyes darkened when she wore certain shades of blue.

Callie chuckled as she slipped into her own black silk rode. "I hope not. I'd really hate to end up as a dramatization on one of those TruTv crime shows."

As the two women made their way out into the hall of their home, a home they had designed and built so it was absolutely perfectly theirs, they smelled breakfast wafting up from downstairs. They gave each other an odd look before heading downstairs and into their kitchen. The sight before them nearly made them gasp but they managed to hold it in so they could have the few seconds before the kids noticed them to take it all in. The kitchen table was set nicely with two beautiful flower arrangements set at Callie's and Arizona's places at the table. Their children were already dressed for the day. The Sunday paper and a pink box full of donuts sat on the island. Sophie and Josie were finishing breakfast while Mac sat at the breakfast bar coloring a picture.

It was Mac who looked up and noticed them standing there. He smiled big and bright as he held up the picture he was coloring. "Happy mothers day!"

Sophie and Josie turned and smiled as they added, "Happy mother's day!"

Tears welled in both mothers' eyes but only Arizona's rolled down her cheeks as she went to her children and hugged them. "You let us sleep in and you're making us breakfast?"

"Sophie did most of the cooking." Josie said as she looked at her big sister proudly. "It was my job to keep Mac quiet."

Callie was beaming with such love and pride. She had totally awesome kids. Normally they figured out mother's day together since the kids had been pretty young until recently. This was the first year the girls had taken the whole thing on themselves. "That's a pretty big job, mija."

The girl blew a strand of dirty blonde hair away from her sapphire blue eyes. "You're tellin' me."

"I drawed you pictures Mama!" Mac said proudly as his Mama picked him up from the buster seat he'd been strapped in to keep him from falling off the high bar chair. She cuddled him and kissed his face, which made the little boy giggle. Mac's hair was much darker then Josie's, more brown then blonde, but not nearly as dark as Callie's and Sophie's. His eyes were big and brown like Callie's, while his sisters both had blue eyes. When he smiled it was Callie's smile, but much to her delight he had Arizona's dimples. He was a three-year-old charmer and he knew it. "I drawed one for Mommy too!"

"My babies." Callie cooed as she went and placed big sloppy kisses on each of her babies' faces. For the first time in a long time Sophie didn't groan and roll her eyes when her mother kissed her. Josie just beamed. Mac giggled. "Muy bueno, Mac." She praised her son as he handed her the picture he'd made for her. "Gracias mijo."

It took a moment for Mac to translate that in his head and then he beamed. "Welcome Mommy!" Josie walked over to her brother and whispered in his ear. Mac got a very thoughtful look on his face and then nodded. "Da nada, Mommy!"

Callie chuckled and then kissed her babies again.

Breakfast had been rather simple since the girls weren't allowed to cook anything huge on their own. Scrambled eggs made in the electric skillet, bacon made in the oven because Arizona was afraid they'd get a grease burn, home fries also from the oven, toast, and of course Arizona's donuts. There was sparkling apple juice and coffee, which was really strong. Sophie had no problem informing their mothers that Josie had made the coffee. "Who taught you how to make coffee, mija?"

"Grandpa." Josie answered.

Arizona nodded. "Yeap, that's The Colonel's coffee alright. Strong enough to fuel a tank."

The flowers that had been placed at their seats had been cut from their garden and put in vases the girls had bought at the craft store and then decorated themselves. Arizona's had bright colors and butterflies; Callie's had been done in blues and greens with little skull and cross bone stickers. Both were dotted with thumbprints in three very distinct sizes. They were beautiful. After breakfast, while Sophie and Josie cleaned up, Callie and Arizona were sent upstairs to get ready for the day. When they came back downstairs they were instructed to sit on the couch together. Neither could stop their giggles. Apparently taking charge of the holiday had made their daughters rather bossy and Callie couldn't help but giggle when she told Arizona they reminded her of her. Arizona rolled her eyes and smacked her wife playfully on the arm.

"Ok Mac," Sophie said as she handed her baby brother a gift-wrapped box. "Take this to Mama."

"Ok!" After taking the present from his sister Mac carefully walked it over to the couch where their moms were waiting. "Mama!" He shoved the present at her. "This is for you! Open it!"

Sophie rolled her eyes a little at the way her brother shoved the gift at their Mama. It was kind of cute how he got all excited over the presents even though they weren't for him. "Now give this one to Mommy." She handed him another gift and once again the little boy shoved it at his mom and demanded she open it now.

"That's from Mac." Sophie explained since the little boy was giving his Mama a run for her money in the perky and bouncy department. "With a little help from Dad."

Arizona was smiling so brightly her dimples were really pronounced. She ripped the paper away while Callie carefully undid hers. Arizona's gift was a round ceramic heart with Mac's handprints pressed into it with his full name, age, and the year imprinted around the edge. She had two just like it hanging in her office, one with Sophie's handprints and one with Josie's. "Yay! This is awesome buddy!"

Callie's present was also part of a match set. It was a beautifully framed x-ray of Mac's hands. Like Arizona's, his name, age and the year were engraved on a plaque at the bottom of the frame. She had framed x-rays from her girls hanging in her office and couldn't wait to put this one up as well. "I love it Mac!"

"Daddy made me stick my hands in goo." Mac explained as he pressed his hands into his Mommy's thighs in order to show her how he'd made the impression on his Mama's present. "It was cool! Then Aunt Lexie took a picture of my hands with the big monster camera at your work."

Arizona and Callie pulled their son onto the couch and sat him between them so they could cuddle and kiss him until he started to squirm. They both laughed when he wiggled his way free. When they looked up to their girls they noticed them having a whispered and slightly heated conversation. "Everything alright mijas?" Callie asked.

"Every things fine Mommy." Sophie answered before adding, "Dad's present is outside."

Part of their yard had been turned into a beautiful garden that had taken them years to get perfect. They were actually still working on it. The over all layout was finished but they still had some things they wanted to add, like a stone path that weaved through their yard. They'd started it last summer, adding some decorative personalized stones near the deck with their names engraved in them. They had wanted to add something a little more fun, and still personal, something to draw in not only their family but also their friends. As their children lead them along what was finished Callie and Arizona noticed that the path had been added too.

"Are those handprints?" Arizona asked as she stopped to look at a large man made stone with two sets of handprints and the names Ethan and Emily craved into it.

Another stone not to far off had what looked like the impression of a scalpel in it. The name below the scalpel impression simply read Yang. Callie laughed. Mark had managed to make a stone for everyone in their lives. Addison, Teddy, Mark and Lexie, Derek and Meredith, Christina and Owen, Bailey, Alex, and all the kids had left handprints, footprints, or indentations of something meaningful to them. The path weaved through their garden to the biggest tree closest to their house, which was still quite a bit off in the distance. Under the tree was a beautiful cast iron and wood bench.

"This is just," Arizona said as she took it all in. "Wow."

"Yeah." Callie said as she took it all in while holding her wife's hand. "Who knew Mark had this in him?"

"It's not finished." Josie cut in. She pointed to the stones around the bench. There was one for her, Sophie, Mac, and even Rosie and Grey. "You two have to have your stones done."

Sophie handed her Mommy a card. It was from Mark. "To the mothers of my children." Callie read out loud. "Your path hasn't always been easy and despite the detours you've kept too it and continue to walk it together. I hope this is kind of what you had in mind. Hope you enjoy it. It's the least I could do. You will always have my love and my gratitude for what you've given me. Mark."

They were both in tears as they sat on the bench together looking over the path of stones. Mark could still be an ass, he could still be an arrogant prick, and there were times when Arizona still wanted to smack in the face with a brick, but he was a good man and a wonderful father and neither of them regretted being tied to him for life by their pretty damn amazing kids.

"See, I told you we should have given them ours first." Josie said as she watched her mothers get all sappy. "This is gonna be hard to top." This had been the first year that their Dad hadn't helped them with their gifts. She and Sophie had come up with the idea together and had saved for months to buy them. When it came to mother's day gifts their Dad tended to go overboard and extravagant because he felt the need to try and repay them for giving him the chance to be father. They couldn't do big and extravagant, but they did want to do something really meaningful.

"Your Dad's gift is great, baby girl." Arizona said as she reached out and took hold of her daughter's wrist so she could pull the girl to her. She pulled Josie down onto her lap and then wrapped her arms around her. "But nothing could ever mean more to us then what you three give us. You've already made this day so special and very, very, awesome."

"Really?" Josie asked, looking a little worried over wither or not they would like their gift.

"Really." Callie said as she brushed at Josie's hair. She smiled at her youngest daughter before looking up at the oldest one. "So where's our present?"

Sophie laughed. "I'll go get them." The tall fourteen-year-old who was just starting to develop curves ran back to the house. When she returned she had two small boxes in her hands. She handed one to Josie, who then handed it to their Mama while Sophie handed the other to their Mommy. "They're from both of us."

Josie was holding her breath.

Callie pulled Sophie to sit beside her on the bench. It was big enough for all five of them to sit on comfortably, at least for now. With a kid on each side of them, Callie and Arizona carefully opened the small boxes, and they both gasped softly. Inside each box were three identical but much smaller versions of the hearts they each wore around their necks. "Oh girls," Callie said softly. "They're beautiful."

"Really?" Sophie asked. She'd been just as nervous as Josie had been. "You like them?"

"Baby, we love them." Arizona said as she gently traced the little pendants. "Is this why you two haven't been buying anything with your allowances the last few months?"

Sophie nodded.

"We were saving up." Josie explained.

"How did you know where to find them?" Callie asked as she unclasped her chain so she could put the new pendants on it. "We had these specially made for our very first Valentines' day together."

Sophie smirked. "You've been using the same jeweler for like ever."

Josie nodded. "Aunt Addie took us, but the idea was all us, and I was the one who got your necklace off so we could take it with us so the jewelry guy could make ours just the same as yours."

Callie narrowed dark eyes at her daughter. "I never take mine off, Josie."

The girl giggled. "You sleep like a rock Mommy, especially after a really long day, if your snoring you wouldn't notice if a train ran through your room."

Sophie laughed at the way her Mommy was looking at her sister. "Josie has skills."

"As long as those skills are used for good and not evil." Callie said as she reached over to tickle her youngest daughter.

A little after noon Mark showed up with lunch for two from their favorite bistro. They were getting to get a few hours to be alone together while he took the kids to have lunch with Lexie. Before the kids left with their Dad, Callie and Arizona called their own mothers so everyone could wish them a happy mother's day. As she and Callie sat cuddled on the couch eating their lunch Arizona thought about seeing Lucia Torres on their computer screen wishing them both a happy mother's day. It didn't take long for her mind to throw her back in time to their first few mother's days when the older Latina refused to even speak to her daughter. Callie would send a card, flowers, and call every year but Lucia refused to talk to her. That hurt Callie and that made Arizona angry. She had been more then willing to give Callie's family time to adjust and come to terms with Callie's truth, with who their daughter was, but Lucia had pushed Arizona's limits.

"Hey, are you ok?" Callie asked. She'd been studying her wife's face and had watched it go from blissful and tranquil to kind of angry. "You have that someone give me a brick look."

Arizona smiled warmly at her wife as she reached out and caressed the worry lines in her Calliope's beautiful face. "I'm fine, baby. I was just thinking."

"About?" Callie asked as she moved their lunches to the coffee table so she could take Arizona into her arms.

"Our first couple of mother's days." Arizona said honestly. At the questioning look she was getting, Callie clearly asking about what during those days could have made her look angry, she added. "Those first few years, our first mother's day with Sophie, our first mother's day with Josie, there's kind of a dark smudge on the memories."

Understanding dawned on Callie and her bright, dark eyes dimmed a little. "My mother."

Arizona nodded. "She'd hurt you so badly, Calliope. I don't think I've really ever forgiven her for that."

"She finally came around." Callie said gently.

"Only after she nearly died." Arizona replied. Lucia had had a heart attack that resulted open-heart surgery and the experience had finally forced her to realize she loved her daughter more then her doctrine. It hadn't been easy, the reconciliation had been just as slow going and as painful as Lucia's recovery, but they'd done it. She would never be as close to Callie's mother as she was to her father, but all Arizona cared about was that Callie had her mother back in her life and her children finally had their abuela.

Callie leaned in and placed a kiss between Arizona's eyebrows where her brow crinkled when she was upset. Then she moved down and kissed the tip of her nose before finally placing a kiss on her lips. She could feel her wife relax more and more with each kiss and when she finally pulled back from Arizona's lips she asked, "Do you remember the rest of our first mother's day?"

Arizona couldn't help but smile and nod. "I made you breakfast and we took Sophie for a walk in the park. When we got back to the apartment the three of us fell asleep together in our bed and when I woke up you were making me dinner."

"I wanted to make the day about just us, you, me and our daughter." Callie was smiling, her chocolate eyes warm and loving. "I wanted you to know without any doubt that you were just as much her mother as I was."

"You did Calliope." Arizona reassured her love. "It was a perfect day, and they've just gotten better and better."

Callie flashed a megawatt smile as she fingered the cluster of hearts hanging from the chain around her neck. "Can you believe how great our kids are?"

"They are pretty awesome." Arizona agreed, her own smile so bright that Callie couldn't help but lean in and kiss her dimples.

Since the kids had worked so hard on making the day special for them Callie and Arizona decided that they would handle dinner, which they decided they'd have out. It hadn't been any big surprise when they ended up at their favorite little restaurant that just happen to do the best Latin food in Seattle. When they'd called to talk to Callie's mother she'd mentioned that Carlos was making her dinner that night and ever since they'd all had Cuban food on the brain.

"Have you ever noticed," Arizona asked while she and Callie popped popcorn that night while their kids picked out a movie to watch. "Just how much we eat on Mother's day?"

Callie laughed as she dumped the mini three musketeers into the bowl of hot popcorn that would be for her and Josie.

As the silvery light of the moon seeped into their bedroom from their window, Callie and Arizona couldn't help but look into each other's eyes and smile. It had been a wonderful day. A peaceful day that had allowed them to reflect on how good their lives were, even during the hardest of times. For them that was the real meaning behind mother's day, the change to look back and look ahead and be grateful. Sure the show of appreciation and love from their kids was wonderful, but their kids did that in little ways everyday, all year long.

As Callie reached across the sleeping bodies of their three babies who were all snuggled between them in their bed, she smiled, her eyes full of love and contentment. "Happy Mother's Day, Arizona."

Arizona smiled back as she took Callie's hand and entwined their fingers. Dreams she hadn't known she'd had come true, that's what her family was and always would be. "Happy Mother's Day, Calliope."


	11. Age Eleven: Freak Out

Normally on a Saturday morning, especially a Saturday morning in which both Arizona and Callie Robbins-Torres had the day off, their home was quiet and peaceful. This wouldn't be one of those mornings. A loud pounding seeped through the door of the master bedroom from the hallway outside. They both moaned and groaned, Arizona pulling a pillow over her head, as they each wondered what the hell was going on. Dragging themselves out of bed when it was clear the pounding wasn't going to stop, they padded to their door and stepped out into the hall. They watched in sleepy confusion as their oldest child, fourteen-year-old Sophie Grace pounded on the bathroom door. Her long raven hair was pulled back in a thick ponytail that bounced as she continued to beat on the door.

"Josie!" Sophie yelled as she slammed her hand on the door. "Come on! I need to pee!"

"Go away!" Came the angry, frightened, reply from within.

The tone of their eleven year old's voice quickly brought both mothers out of their barely awake states. They knew ever tone, every timber of their children's voices. They could detect their emotions just by listening to them speak. Arizona frowned as she walked over to Sophie and asked, "What's going on?"

"She's been in there forever!" Sophie huffed as she tried really hard not to do her 'I have to pee' dance.

"How long is forever, Soph?" Callie asked as she pushed her own raven hair out of her face.

"I don't know." The teen replied. "Ten minutes?"

Callie rolled her eyes. "Go use our bathroom before you wake your brother. If he wakes up there's no chance of any of us going back to bed."

Sophie didn't need to be told twice. She took off for her mothers' bedroom and the huge master bath that waited within. Once Sophie had cleared the doorway Arizona walked up and after trying the doorknob, which was locked, she lightly tapped on the door. "Josie, baby, are you ok?"

"Go away!" Josie called out, a slight rattle in her voice.

Arizona looked up at her wife. They both knew by that little rattle that Josie was crying. Callie moved closer, standing beside the blonde peds surgeon who heelyed off with her heart seventeen years ago. "Mija, open the door, por favor."

"Go away!" Josie called back. "Salga!" She repeated in Spanish. "Dejeme solo! Leave me alone!"

"That isn't going to happen, mija." Callie replied as she shared a concerned look with her wife. She tapped on the door again. Her voice full of concern and yet firm so Josie knew she wasn't playing around. "You need to open the door, Josephine."

Arizona was on the verge of freaking out, not that she would ever let one of their children see her freak out, but later when she and Callie were alone she was totally going to freak out. There was something wrong with her little girl and she had no idea what it was. "Baby, please open the door and let me and Mommy in. Are you sick? Are you hurt?"

There was a quiet sniffle from behind the door. "Just please go away."

"I'm gonna go get the key." Callie whispered into Arizona's ear. They'd had to change the lock on the door to a key lock when Josie was little because she had a habit of locking herself in, accidently at first, and then on purpose because she apparently found it funny to panic her mothers.

Arizona nodded as she rested her head against the door. "Josie, baby, Mommy and I are kind of freaking out, out here. What's going on? Talk to me baby girl."

In their bedroom Callie was getting the bathroom key out of its hiding place in the top drawer of their dresser. She was just about to turn and leave the room when she heard a car door slam. They didn't live in an area were that would be a common sound so she looked out the window just in time to see Addison practically run from her car to their door. Going out into the hall she gave Arizona a confused look as she said, "Addison's here."

"Addison?" Arizona asked, her own confusion playing out across her face.

As if on cue Doctor Addison Montgomery's voice rang out from downstairs. "Callie! Arizona!"

Callie shrugged at the look Arizona was giving her as she called back, "Up here Addie!"

The tall redhead took the stairs two at a time. Her hair was a frazzled mess since she was wearing it short these days and she was still in her pin stripped silk pajamas, which were kind of hidden under a long raincoat. "What's wrong? What happened?" At the confused, dazed looks she was getting from her friends she could tell they were just as clueless as she was. "I got a 911 page to come here."

From inside the bathroom Josie called out, "Aunt Addie?"

Addison looked from the door to her friends and then back at the door. "Yes sweet pea its me."

"Can you come in here please!" Josie called out, a soft hitch in her voice. "My Moms have a key. Just you!"

The three women all shared concerned confused looks as Callie shrugged and handed over the key. It was killing them that Josie wanted Addison over them, but at this point she and Arizona just wanted to know what the hell was going on with their kid. Maybe if they weren't so freaked out they could have figured it out, but neither of them were thinking clearly.

"Ok sweet pea." Addison said as she slid the key into the lock. "I'm coming in. Just me."

Josie was sitting on the floor with her back pressed against the bathtub. Her legs were drawn up to her chest; her arms wrapped around them, and tear tracks running down her cheeks. When she looked up at her godmother there was a mix of emotion in her sapphire blue eyes. Addison could see fear, uncertainty, embarrassment and even a touch of shame. It pulled painfully at her heart as she crouched down in front of her goddaughter. Reaching out she tucked the girl's blonde hair behind her ears as she asked, "Josie, sweet pea, what's wrong?"

Josie looked over at the door for a moment. She knew her moms where waiting out there, she knew she'd have to tell them, but right in this moment she couldn't deal with that. Her Mama had said they were freaking out, well so was she. Turning to look at her aunt with fresh tears welling in her eyes Josie reached down to her side and picked up the panties she'd been wearing. There was blood in the crotch, it was there when she'd gotten up to pee, and despite the fact that her mothers had talked to her about this, and despite the fact that she kind of understood what it meant, when she saw the blood in her panties she freaked out. She'd taken them off, needing to get them off, without realizing she'd soil her pj pants the same way. She'd panicked, and her first instinct had been to scream for her mothers, but then she'd been swept away by so many conflicting emotions that she'd had a hard time sorting them out. So instead of waking her mothers she used the phone in the bathroom to page her aunt, who was the only one other then her mothers that she could ever want at a time like this.

Relief washed over Addison's face when she saw the panties in Josie's hand. "Oh, sweet pea." She leaned in a placed a kiss on Josie's forehead as she cupped the girl's face in her hands. "Baby, that's natural." She caressed Josie's cheek in a comforting way, knowing that Josie was the type of kid who really needed physical contact when she was emotional. "Honey, it's normal, you're at just the right age for this to start. Your Moms talked to you about your period haven't they?" Josie nodded. "But it's still pretty scary, isn't it?" Josie nodded. Addison wiped away fresh tears.

"Addison?" Callie called through the door. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes, everything's fine, Cal." Addison called back as she watched Josie duck her head. "We'll be out in a few minutes. Why don't you and Arizona head downstairs and start some coffee."

"Addison?" Arizona asked in confusion, a twinge of 'how dare you dismiss us that's our child' anger in her voice.

Addison got up and went to the door, opening it just a crack. She gave her friends a reassuring smile. "She's fine. We'll be out in a few minutes, I promise." The two mothers were hesitant but eventually gave in and nodded before heading towards the stars. They trusted Addison and if Addison said everything was ok, then it must have been ok. Once she was sure her goddaughter's worried parents were gone, Addison turned back to Josie. "Come on sweet pea. Lets get you cleaned up."

"Ok." Josie said as she let her aunt help her to her feet. No matter how prepared you think you are, no matter how much you think you understand what you've been told about something like this, it was still a pretty frightening thing. It wasn't just the fact that she was suddenly bleeding and her brain accepting the fact that this kind of bleeding wasn't harmful, but it was also all the thoughts about how this will change things, will it change things? What does this mean other then the obvious physical meaning? Josie was overwhelmed.

While Josie took a warm shower Addison went across the hall to her room. She checked Josie's bedding and after seeing the red stain she gathered it up along with Josie's panties and pj pants so they could be treated for the wash. Then she gathered some clean, comfy clothes and took then back to the bathroom. After poking around the bathroom for a few minutes she found where Sophie hid her kotex. Once Josie was showered and ready to get dressed, Addison showed her how to keep herself clean and how to use the kotex. As she rubbed Josie's hair dry she said, "We need to tell your Moms what's going on, sweet pea."

"I know." Josie said softly. "I just got scared and stuff."

Addison nodded in understanding. Thinking back to the mix of emotion she'd seen she added, "This isn't something to be embarrassed over or ashamed of, Josie. Every healthy woman has a period. Your Moms still have theirs, and Sophie has hers, and I use to have one too."

"Use too?" Josie asked as her eyes locked with those of her godmother's in the mirror.

"Your Aunt Addie's old." Addison teased as she leaned in and placed a kiss on top of Josie's head. The poor girl was always traumatized over this, no need to throw in an explanation of menopause just yet.

For the first time since she woke up Josie smiled just a little. Then that flicker of a smile faded and she sighed softly. "When Sophie got her period Mama cried."

"Oh, sweet pea." Addison sighed with new understanding as to way Josie had paged her to come over rather then going to her moms. "Honey, your Mama wasn't crying because something bad happened to Sophie. She was crying because her little girl was growing up. This is something special, it is. It means that you're starting to grow up too. That you're a step closer to being the wonderful young woman we know you're going to grow up to be. If your Mama cries…" Addison laughed at the look she was getting from Josie in the mirror. "Ok, when your Mama cries, it's going to be because of that, not because this is something bad."

Josie thought about that for a moment and then turned around and wrapped her arms around the tall redhead. "Thanks Aunt Addie. I'm sorry if I scared you when I paged you."

"You're welcome my little sweet pea." Addison said as she hugged her goddaughter tight. "And it's alright, you can call or page me anytime, for anything, you know that." She kissed the top of Josie's head. "Are you ready to go downstairs and talk to your moms?"

Josie shook her head. "I don't feel so good."

"Does it feel like you have a stomach ache?" Addison asked. When Josie nodded she nodded as well. "Why don't you go lay down, and I'll talk to your moms. They'll bring you something to help you feel better, ok?"

"Ok." Josie replied. She hugged her aunt tight again and mumbled an "I love you" into her chest before leaving the bathroom.

As soon as Addison walked into the kitchen she was practically pounced on.

"Is she ok?" Arizona demanded. "What happened? Was she sick? Why wouldn't she let us in if she were sick?"

"Did she get hurt or something?" Callie asked. "Did she do something? Say something?"

Addison waited for the moment that would let her slip into the barrage of questions. When both women took a breath at the same time she quickly said, "She started her period."

That caused both Arizona and Callie to come up short. Arizona's head actually snapped back a little as she looked at the redhead and blinked. "She started her period?" That had never even crossed her mind. She was just a little girl. "Are you sure?"

"She was scared, she panicked." Addison explained as she watched surprise, and a little hurt cross her friends' faces. "She was feeling embarrassed and a little ashamed. And she didn't want to make you cry," She was looking at Arizona when she said that. "So she called me. I helped her clean up and showed her how to use a pad. She's having some cramps so I told her to lie down for a while and you'd come up to give her something. I think half a teen Midol will help, but if it doesn't give her one whole one next time."

Callie sighed in relief as she put her arm around Arizona and nodded at Addison's instructions. "Thank you Addie."

"Anytime." Addison said with a bright smile. "Now, I need to get back to my house before Ethan convinces Teddy that we have jelly beans for breakfast."

"Teddy's at your house this early on a Saturday morning?" Arizona said with a quizzical look.

"She spent the night." Addison told them. Both women were giving her smirks that made her roll her eyes. "It's getting close to the anniversary of Henry's death, and neither one of us wanted to face another dateless Friday night, so we had a movie night. Stop reading more into things between Teddy and me then are really there. What are you recruiting?"

Arizona giggled.

"It's not like you two have had any luck in the men's department." Callie replied with a cocky look on her face. "Maybe it's time to trade up and try the women's department." Callie should have stopped there but she couldn't help herself. "Ya know, give up red meat for fish."

"Calliope!" Arizona said with a blush and a giggle as she swatted at her wife's shoulder.

Addison groaned as a light blushed colored her cheeks.

"Hey! It sure worked out for me!" Callie defended.

"Goodbye, I'm leaving." Addison said to her friends with a shake of her head and a wave of her hand.

Once they were alone Arizona turned to look at her wife with tears welling in her pretty blue eyes. She tended to be the emotional one when it came to the kids getting older. Once upon a time she'd selfishly clung to her childless freedom with thoughts of sunny Spanish beaches and images of Callie topless in crystal clear waters, but now, now she wanted to keep her babies little and with them always. She wanted to banish menstruation cycles, high school, dating, driving, cracking voices, and all the other little things that would slowly take them from her. "She's just a baby, Callie, she's our baby."

"I know." Callie said as she wrapped her arms around Arizona and held her tight. Her own huge heart was breaking a little. She carried that tiny little human inside her body, felt her grow and develop, and it was hard to think that soon she wouldn't be such a tiny human any more. "Our baby girl is starting to be a little less a baby, but she'll always be our girl, Zo. Besides, it's not like we're going to wake up tomorrow and send her off to college anything."

"I know." Arizona replied as she rubbed her nose on Callie's oversized t-shirt. It was a comforting gesture for her, one she could remember bringing her peace of mind as far back as Callie's chicken pox episode. "It just sort of feels like the beginning of the end, ya know."

Callie held her wife for several minutes in their kitchen until she felt they were both a little more together. Josie had been so upset by this she'd called Addison, and she didn't want to make matters worse for her. "Come on, baby, lets splash some cold water on faces and then go up and talk to our little girl."

Arizona nodded as she pulled back from Callie. "I didn't know she knew about me crying over, Sophie."

"She's pretty perceptive when it comes to us." Callie reminded her. "She's always been really good about reading our moods."

It hadn't been all that surprising when Callie and Arizona found Josie's room empty. Their little cuddle bug turned into a cuddle monster when she wasn't feeling well. Walking into their room they found the girl curled into a little ball in the middle of their bed. Arizona walked over to her side of the bed and sat beside her baby. When she reached out to rub Josie's back she was taken aback by the small whimper. She frowned up at Callie who was sitting on edge of her side of the bed.

"Josie?" Arizona said softly.

Josie sat up and threw her arms around her Mama's neck. In the time she'd been alone in her mothers' bed she had time to think. It finally dawned on her that she might have hurt her mothers' feelings by asking for Addison. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what mija?" Callie asked as she scooted closer. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Josie said as she pulled back from her Mama enough to look at her Mommy. She was sandwiched between them, her Mommy sitting so she was facing her and her Mama.

"It ok, baby." Arizona reassured as she continued to hold her little girl in her arms. "Mommy and I understand that you were overwhelmed. And we're really glad that you have an awesome godmother who we know you can turn too when you can't turn to us for whatever reason, but baby you can always, always, come to us no matter what. Ok?"

Josie nodded. "Ok."

Callie gave her little girl a warm smile and caressed her beautiful face. Josie had that chiseled look that Mark had, perfect angles and lines, but she had Arizona's eyes, her mouth, and her nose. Josie was the physical representation of Callie having it all. She was living proof to show the world that she, Arizona and Mark could make super unconventional work and work well. "Aunt Addie said you weren't feeling well."

"My tummy hurts." Josie said with a nod as she frowned. "But it's not a tummy ache."

"They're cramps baby." Arizona said as Callie held out half a pill and her glass of water from the nightstand. "Take that, it should help."

"Will I always feel so yucky?" Josie asked after taking the pill like she was told. She'd let go of her Mama and was now snuggled between both her moms.

"You might." Callie said honestly. "It's different for each of us and it can be different from month to month."

Josie's frown deepened as she glared at her Mommy. "You mean I have to do this every month?"

Arizona held in a chuckle as she replied, "Yes, for the foreseeable future I'm afraid."

"That sucks." Josie complained. "For how long?"

"Each time? We won't know until you stop." Arizona explained. "And we won't know for sure until you've had a couple of cycles. For how long, long term, the next thirty, forty years."

Josie groaned loudly. "This really sucks!"

Callie laughed gently. "Yeah, it kind of does, but you'll get use to it. And when you're all grown up and ready to have a baby, if that's something you want to do, you'll discover that it was so worth it."

Josie's reply was to make a face that made both of her mothers laugh. The three of them stayed snuggled together for an hour as Josie asked questions and her mothers shared their experiences. Arizona told her how glad she'd been that she'd started when her Dad and her brother had been away on a camping trip, because Tim would have teased her for days. Callie told her that it had been Aria who was there to help her out and explain things a little more clearly then her mom had. She then had to explain, in a PG way, the notion of Catholic guilt concerning all things sexual and how some things just weren't talked about when she was a kid. They'd also promised to get her a pocket calendar after showing her the ones they used to keep track so she wouldn't be so caught of guard next time. By the time Mac barged in dragging his blanky and stuffed Lightening McQueen, Josie was feeling a little better both emotionally and physically.

"Do you think Daddy would get mad if I didn't go today?" Josie asked as she sat at the breakfast bar watching her Mommy make pancakes.

Callie looked over her shoulder as she asked, "Are you sure? You love the zoo."

Josie nodded. She wasn't ready to take this out in public just yet.

"Ok," Callie said with a nod. "We'll tell him you're not feeling well. He'll understand."

Of course Mark understood but he couldn't say he was thrilled by this turn of events. He felt the same way Arizona did, he didn't like the idea of their kids growing up and the future impactions of what maturing meant. Josie got babied for the rest of the weekend, though her mothers made it clear that this was a normal, natural part of a woman's life and therefore not a reason to stop doing all her normal activities. This was reinforced on Monday morning when Josie gave them a hard time about going to school. Thankfully for her she'd only gone for three days, because she could have ended up in a lot of trouble if she'd whined and pouted like that again on Tuesday.


	12. Age Twelve: Comfort & Chance

I just wanted to give props to Rocky Top and Greyswomenyum who introduced me to the idea of Addie/Teddy with their wonderful stories. I instantly feel in love with the idea of them together because of their stories. So once you're finished here look them up if you haven't already.

~Reese

* * *

><p>When you've lived with someone for twelve years you really get to know him or her. You get to know about their little habits and you learn how to read the subtle things. Josephine Robbins-Torres knew things about her family that she wasn't sure they knew about themselves. She knew that when her older sister Sophie was feeling insecure about something she would sit a little closer to their mothers, because being fifteen meant she didn't always know how to talk about how she felt, or she felt she was old enough to handle it on her own. She knew that her four-year-old brother Mac tugged on his ear when he was feeling embarrassed or shy. She knew when her Mommy chewed on the corner of her upper lip she was thinking about work, and that she was trying to solve a hard problem or come up with a new idea for her patient. She knew that when her Mama got this particular look, when her bright blue eyes took on this certain kind of pinch, when her lips set in a certain line she was thinking about something or someone from her past that made her sad. She also knew that when her Mama's bright eyes were dim and watery and her shoulders were slightly hutched forward something bad happened at work.<p>

Josie was just coming down the stairs after changing out of her uniform when she saw her Mama come in and head for the coat closet to hang up her jacket. She watched for a moment, taking in her Mama carefully, and she frowned. It wasn't just her Mama's posture that let her know the older blonde had had a bad day, it was the fact that she'd come home in her scrubs, which meant her Mama wanted out of the hospital and away from what happened as soon as possible. "Hi Mama."

Arizona turned to look at her little girl as the smaller blonde came over to hug her. "Hey baby."

Her Mama's whole body was so tensely coiled that it was like hugging stone. "You're home early."

"Yeah." Arizona said simply. "Since I didn't have any other surgeries scheduled today I thought I'd make Uncle Alex earn his keep and handle things for the rest of the day." She gave her little girl a weak but warm smile. Just hugging her little girl had helped burn away some of the dark cloud she felt she was shrouded in. Loosing a patient was never easy on Arizona, but loosing a long-term patient was even worse. She made connections with those kids, connections that let her know them and care about them in away she didn't get with other kids who came into her professional life. "Where's Sophie?"

"She's at Joss' house." Josie answered as they made their way into the living room. "She went over right from school. Where's Mac?"

"He wanted to finish his game of superheroes so Mommy's going to pick him up from daycare when her shift ends." Arizona answered. "Have you started your homework?" When her daughter shook her head Arizona tapped her nose with her index finger. "Why don't you get that started, ok?"

Josie nodded and then walked over to the coffee table where she'd left her homework. She watched out of the corner of her eye as her Mama spoke to their sitter. She couldn't hear what they were saying until Megan said her goodbyes for the night. She was only half paying attention to her homework when she heard her Mama say she was going upstairs to shower and change and that she'd be down in a little while. Josie knew that her Mama needed some time alone so tried really hard to focus on her homework. She didn't like it when her mothers were upset, it just didn't sit right with her. She kind of understood that her parents were people too, and that they had lives outside of being her moms, but she didn't like it when those lives effected what was normal for her, and normal for Josie was happy, bubbly, perky, less likely to let Josie get away with stuff Arizona.

Abandoning her homework Josie made her way into the kitchen. She filled the electric kettle with water and turned it on so it would boil while she rooted around in the cabinet for her Mama's favorite tea. While the tea steeped Josie retrieved the pink bakery box of hidden donuts that her mothers kept in the house. After making the tea just how she knew her Mama liked it she carried it and a chocolate icing and sprinkle donut up to her mothers' room. She pressed her ear to the door and then knocked with her foot. She didn't hear a reply so she set the plate with the donut down so she could crack open the door, once it was open she could hear the shower running. Stepping inside she placed the tea and donut on her Mama's nightstand and then went back downstairs. Her Mama processed things, and when she did she liked having space, so Josie went back downstairs.

When Arizona came out of the bathroom the first thing she noticed was the floral and spice scent of the tea. The smell drew her eyes to where the mug and plate sat and her eyes watered. She knew Callie wasn't home yet and she was pretty sure Josie was still the only one who was. She walked over to her side of the bed and sat on its edge. She took a deep breath of the wonderful scent before picking up the mug and taking a sip. She kept her hands wrapped around the mug as she sat back against the headboard. She closed her eyes and let the heat from the mug spread from her hands to her whole body. She played years worth of treatment over and over in her mind, looking for things she could have done differently or for mistakes she might have made.

Downstairs Josie was trying to think like her Mommy because normally it was her Mommy who comforted her Mama about hospital stuff. They always handled hospital stuff privately so Josie wasn't really sure about how they comforted each other when they were alone upstairs, but she had noticed that her normally openly affectionate mothers became even more touchy feely afterwards, and that the caresses and touches and looks were different then others Josie had noticed. She also knew that she personally liked physical contact when she was upset, so after leaving her Mama alone for a while to "process" she went back upstairs.

Arizona looked up when she heard the click of the doorknob break the silence of her bedroom. She watched wordlessly as her twelve-year-old daughter walked across the room to Callie's side of the bed. Something told her not to say anything but to just let the girl do what she was going to do. Tears welled in her eyes just when she didn't think she could tear up anymore. Josie climbed up on the bed and over to her. Her little girl settled in at her side and picked up her arm, wrapping it around herself before putting her own arms around her. Arizona's other arm went around her little girl automatically after Josie snuggled close, putting her head on Arizona's shoulder. She understood instantly what Josie was doing. It would have been weird for a twelve year old to hold their mother, but perfectly normal for a mother to hold her twelve year old, even when it was the mother who needed to be held.

Genetically Josie was Arizona's and the blonde haired, blue eyed, dimpled child looked it, she was the mini-Arizona to Sophie's mini-Calliope in looks. But Arizona believed with all her heart that while Callie carried Josie she infused the little girl with her great big heart, because just like her beloved Calliope, Josie loved hard. As she held her baby girl in her arms Arizona could feel her world realign, her mind clear, and her heart unclench. Holding her child in her arms allowed her to let go of all the crap and simply greave the loss of a child's life, a life she knew she did everything to save but a life that was still meant to leave this world for the next. The loss of that child made Arizona even more grateful for her own children and she thanks God for them and for their well-being.

Josie could feel her Mama's body relaxing, she could feel her breathing coming easier, and she could hear the beat of her heart steady out. For a half hour she simply let her Mama hold her, taking whatever she needed from her, and then when she felt the change in her Mama she looked up into a matching pair of blue eyes. "I'm sorry you had a hard day, Mama."

"Thank you baby girl." Arizona said before leaning down and placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead.

They feel into a few more minutes of comfortable, comforting silence before Josie asked, "Are you feeling better?"

"Much." Arizona answered with a smile. She squeezed her little girl tight.

There was still something off about her Mama's smile. Josie knew she was feeling much better then she had when she came home, but she wasn't quite there yet. She figured that she'd done what she could but now it was just a matter of her Mama simply needing her Mommy. But Josie had one last idea in mind, it wasn't something her Mommy would do, she didn't think, it was something Josie had gotten from her aunts, but it always helped Josie to take that final step towards moving past what was bothering her. Disentangling herself from her Mama, Josie climbing off the bed and left the room, when she returned a few moments later she walked over to her mothers' dresser.

Arizona watched with a cocked eyebrow as Josie plugged her iPod into the dock on the dresser. She watched curiously as Josie flicked and then tapped on the screen before turning and smiling at her. A huge grin appeared on the peds surgeon's face as the unmistakable first notes of the Gummibar song came blaring out of the dock speakers. "What are we doing?" She asked her daughter when Josie took her hand and pulled at it to get her to stand.

"We're gonna dance it out." Josie said as the silly techno song started up.

"Dance it out?" Arizona asked as she stood there watching her daughter start to move to the music. "Where did you learn to dance it out?"

"Aunt Meredith." Josie answered before adding, "Mama, stop talking and dance. Trust me."

Arizona laughed, shook her head, and then started moving and bopping along with her daughter. Following the English and Germen versions of the Gummibar song, Numa Numa played, followed by Eiffel 65's Blue, and the two blondes were still bopping around and laughing as they danced together. Honestly, Arizona hadn't felt this good, this light, in days. As another techno pop song started Arizona stopped to watch as her little girl grooved to Ohh Ahh… Just a Little Bit More with rather precise moves that she just knew were probably choreographed either from a video or a performance. When the song ended Arizona reached out for her baby girl and pulled her along as she collapsed on the bed. "Where on earth did you get your taste in music?" Arizona asked as she laughed. "Euro techno pop? Somehow I don't think that's the kind of music Grey and Yang listen to when they dance it out."

Josie laughed as she snuggled with her Mama as they both caught their breaths. "Do you remember Hilda? The German girl you treated a year or so ago? She played me the Gummibar song, and then I made a Gummibar channel on Pandora. I like it, it's fast, and bubbly, and awesome." She giggled and then whispered, "And, don't tell Aunt Christina, but Aunt Mer watches Eurovision every year. She got hooked when she toured Europe before med school. I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna go to Europe and Asia before college."

Arizona laughed at the idea of Meredith Grey being into Euro-pop, at the way her daughter babbled, and she smiled as she listened to her daughter make plans, feeling blessed that her daughter could make such plans. She felt so much better. Hugging her baby tight she said, "I love you Josie. Thank you for cheering me."

"I love you too Mama." Josie said happily. She could feel that her Mama felt better which made her feel good. She was proud of herself for being able to help her Mama the way, or in her own way rather, that her Mommy did.

A little while later after she's helped Josie with her homework, Arizona was in the kitchen starting dinner. She wasn't nearly the cook Callie was but she could make a mean lasagna. She'd just put the lasagna in the oven when there was a knock on the back door. Arizona made a confused face as she walked over and peeked past the window curtain. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Callie was worried." Teddy said as she stepped inside her best friend's home. "I told her I'd stop by once I got off shift. Besides, I really need to talk to you about something and I know how much it cheers you up to meddle in my life."

"I'm fine." Arizona reassured her friend as they made their way over to the kitchen table. Arizona had a glass of wine sitting on the island so she paused there first to get it and the bottle while Teddy helped her self to a clean glass. "And I don't meddle in people's lives, I fix people."

"Really?" Teddy asked while rolling her eyes at the last statement. "Because you were taking it pretty hard when I saw you in the scrub room."

Arizona poured some red wine into Teddy's glass as she explained, "I've had time to work trough it. Plus, I have a super awesome kid." She explained what Josie had done for her, the whole time smiling and beaming with such love and pride that Teddy couldn't help but smile as well.

"She is a pretty great kid." Teddy said when Arizona was finished. "Techno-pop? I've got to get my hands on her iPod and put some real music on there." The two blonde best friends talked about things with a little more depth then Arizona could talk to her daughter with. While they talked Teddy picked at left over lasagna noodles and sipped her wine. She'd had something on her mind all day but after Arizona had lost her patient Teddy hadn't been comfortable with bringing up her problem, which seemed to pale in comparison.

Hashing things out medically with Teddy helped Arizona more and that part of her that had still been questioning everything settled down. Once she was done unloading she sat and watched Teddy eat another noodle before suddenly asking, "So, what's got you freaking out?"

"Who said I was freaking out?" Teddy asked defensively.

"I've known you for how many years now?" Arizona asked with a knowing grin as she added a little more wine to their glasses. "I can kind of tell when you're freaking out."

Teddy sat there for several long moments just staring at her best friend. She had come to Seattle because of Owen, but Arizona had been one of the reasons she'd stayed. The perky, bouncy, blonde had pretty much decreed that they were going to be friends and sure enough she had quickly become Teddy's best friend. Arizona had become her family, a sister, and that had only been reaffirmed when she and Callie had asked Teddy to be Mac's godmother. There was no one else she could talk to about this, no one else she wanted to talk to, but Teddy was a little leery to do so. She was a little worried about what her friend would think about this. "I kissed someone last night."

Arizona blinked bright blue eyes in surprise. She was suddenly really glad she hadn't taken a sip from the glass that had just brushed her bottom lip. She lowered the glass slowly. "You kissed someone last night?" She asked, looking confused. "Wait, I thought you and Addison were going to see that Celtic rock band you two like so much at some pub."

"We did." Teddy said as she nervously played with her wine glass while looking at her friend through her lashes.

"So, what, you meet someone there and hooked up?" Arizona asked as she tried to interpret Teddy's body language.

Teddy licked her lips before answering, "No, I was with Addison. I was with Addison all night. Well, not ALL night, after she dropped me off at home I was pretty much alone, except for ya know the dog."

Arizona blinked again. Was Teddy rambling? Then suddenly everything Teddy said clicked and Arizona's brain came to a complete halt like someone pulling the emergency break on a train. "Oh my god! Teddy!" Arizona said with wide eyes. "You kissed Addison? Our Addison? Addison Adrienne Forbes Montgomery?"

"That's a really long name." Teddy chuckled nervously.

"Teddy!" Arizona scolded.

Teddy sighed. "Yes, yes, ok, I kissed that Addison. Well, we kind of kissed each other, I think. I mean I wasn't sitting there plotting it out, and I don't think she was either, it just kind of happened."

"How did it just kind of happen?" Arizona asked. She was stunned to say the least, and she was concerned because neither of her friends had ever to her knowledge been interested in women before, and she was worried because she didn't want either to get hurt, and she was nervous about the ramifications of something like this on their little collective family unit. And yet there was a tingle of excitement and happiness at the thought of two of her closest friends finding happiness and love with each other, and there was a flicker of smugness because she'd told Callie that Addie and Teddy would be an awesome couple if only they were gay.

"After the show we decided we wanted frozen yogurt so we went to that frozen yogurt bar she likes." Teddy began to explain. "We were sitting outside because it was a really nice night and that's rare this time of year. So we're sitting there on this bench and we're talking and it's just like every other time we've hung out and then it wasn't."

"What do you mean it suddenly felt different?" Callie asked as she stared in shock at the redhead who'd pulled her into an on-call room. She'd been on her way down to the daycare to pick up Mac so they could head home and she could be with Arizona when Addison came up to her and physically forced her into the small room. Before she could even get the words, what the hell, out of her mouth Addison blurted out that she'd kissed Teddy.

Addison sighed as she rubbed her face with her hands. Looking up she said, "I don't know. I was sitting there next to her laughing at something she'd said and then when I looked at her I just really wanted to kiss her, so I did!"

"Then what happened?" Callie asked as stood there leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. She would be the last person to judge someone because of something like this. Once upon a time she'd been Addison and Teddy, she'd been the supposedly straight girl who, once she'd finally discovered who Callie Torres really was as her own person, fell for another girl. It wasn't easy to discover that after a lifetime of thinking and dreaming one way, God had decided to make the person made for you into someone you were totally not expecting. And she didn't just mean making her a woman, but making her perky and pink with butterflies on her scrub cap.

Addison's head snapped up. "What do you mean then what happened?"

"I mean," Callie said as she moved to sit beside her best friend. "Did she return the kiss or push you away?"

"She kissed me back." Addison said softly.

Callie smiled as she bumped the taller woman playfully with her shoulder. "Was it good?"

"God yes." Addison said with a softly moan. Then her eyes went wide and she glared at Callie. "Callie! I kissed another woman!" The last part was said in a soft growl just in case someone was passing the room. News like that would get around the hospital in a flash.

"So?" Callie said in reply. "Addison, you and Teddy hit it off instantly when you first meet, and over the last year and half you've been getting really close. Hell for the last six months you've practically been dating."

Addison glared. "We have not."

Callie raised a brow and laughed. "You go out to dinner, to the movies, you go to concerts together. She drags you to football games and you force her to go with you to the opera. When you won the national Neonatologist of the Year award, you took Teddy to the dinner." Callie paused a moment to think and then added, "Addie, she took you to that anniversary memorial Army thing last month, she was in uniform and you were her plus one. Face it, you and Teddy have been dating for a while now."

"It just feels right to do all those things and to think of her when something like the award comes up." Addison defended. Then she thought about what Callie was saying and what she'd just implied. Addison turned to look at Callie with genuine surprise on her face. "Oh my god, I think I have feelings for Teddy Altman."

"And there's nothing wrong with that, Teddy." Arizona encouraged. She'd listened to Teddy tell her about the night before, but more then that she listened to the way Teddy talked about Addison. It made her smile.

Teddy regarded her friend carefully before saying honestly, "I'm kind of surprised you think so."

Arizona titled her head a little as she thought about why Teddy would think that. "Oh, because of some of the early issues Callie and I had? Callie showed me that love can't be tied up in labels and categories. Love is boundary free and the way a person loves, who that person chooses to love, is up to that person. Did you love Owen because he was a man or because he was Owen? Did you love Henry because he had a penis or because he had a sense of humor that would make you laugh even on your worse days? Did you love him because you're physical anatomy was compatible for biologically reproducing or because you both had kind, brave, loving hearts? Do you think you could be falling in love with Addison because she has great tits and a nice ass, or do you think you could be falling in love with her because when your sad and crying, when your hurt and feeling alone, when your happy and content it's her arms you want wrapped around you?"

A flash of jealously flicked in Teddy's soft blue eyes. "Why are you looking at Addison's tits and ass? You're a married woman."

"Married, not dead." Arizona said deadpan before adding. "You're missing my point, Teddy."

"No," Teddy said gently with a shake of her head. "No, I didn't miss your point."

"So what do I do now?"

"You talk to her."

Dinner that night was full of chatter and laughs. The girls talked about their day at school and Mac rambled on and on about being Superman at daycare. The girls argued about who's turn it was to load the dishwasher until their mothers decided they could both wash the dishes by hand together. Mac, being a four-year-old boy, put up quite the fight over bath time. He gave up the fight after getting a pop on his bottom, but then once Callie had gotten him in the tub she had a hard time getting him out.

"Timothy Robbins-Torres, do you always have to be so contradictory?" Callie asked with a heavy sigh that made her bangs flutter.

Mac looked up at his Mommy and shrugged. "I don't know what that word means."

Callie bit back a laugh. "Come on, out of the water."

Sophie wasn't any easier to get to bed because the teen couldn't help but pout and moan about having to hand over her cell phone for the night. Arizona had decided, and Callie had agreed, that the kids wouldn't have more then a radio in their rooms because it was a proven fact that personal electrics interfered with kids sleeping habits. The only one who didn't put up a fuss over bedtime was Josie and that was only because Callie was currently reading her the Harry Potter books. Once those were finished the girl would go back to finding one hundred and one things to put off going to bed again. Once their three darling children were finally tucked into the beds Callie and Arizona began their personal nightly routines.

Once they were ready and in bed Callie put her arms around Arizona and held her close. She'd been so proud of Josie when Arizona told her about their afternoon together, but now it was her turn. In hushed voices the two of them talked about what happened and finally Arizona was able to put it all behind her and she knew that tomorrow would be a fresh day. With that out of the way the two talked about Addison and Teddy. They shared the same concerns and the same hopes. When it all boiled down what mattered was that their friends were happy and loved, they wanted them to have what they had and if they found that with each other that would be awesome.


	13. Age: Twelve: White Wedding: Part One

White Wedding

Part One

The attic could either be a scary place or a treasure cove depending on the person. Her Mommy for example found the attic creepy and unnerving, and she down right fused to go into it. Josephine Robbins-Torres however thought the attic was awesome. Every time she ventured up into the massive space she found something new. Once she found a box full of old case files that lead to an afternoon alone with her Mommy looking at old x-rays and listening to stories about what her Mommy had done to help each person. In another box she found an old metal tin full of funny looking coins. That got her a morning alone with her Mama who told her that she use to keep a coin from each country she visited while she moved around the world with the Colonel when she was a kid. In a large gift bag in the corner of the room sitting in an old car seat, she'd found some baby onesies with hand drawn designs on them. When she asked her mothers what the big blue swirly mess was suppose to be it led to a family night on the deck and stories about pregnancies and birth days.

This time Josie was in the attic for a reason, as opposed to just hanging out, or hiding out. She was working on a family history project for school and needed to find pictures she could scan to use in her video. As she was going through a box full of pictures she found an old notebook and started flipping through it. At first she wasn't sure what it was, it looked like something Sophie would do with random pictures from magazines scotch taped to the pages, but she knew the hand written notes were in her mothers' handwriting. Then when she did figure out what it was it didn't make sense because it didn't match what she already knew.

"So you are still breathing?" Sophie Robbins-Torres said as she came up the stairs and saw her little sister sitting on the floor looking through something. "We thought you'd died up here or something. Mom sent me up to check. She said if you were dead I'd have to bring you down myself because she isn't coming up here."

Josie completely ignored what her newly turned fifteen year old sister said and replied with, "Soph, come look at this." She handed the notebook over to her sister who started looking through it after sitting next to her. "They look like wedding plans."

Sophie looked over a few pages and nodded. "They are." She smiled brightly at the pictures of dresses and flower arrangements and hand written reminders that read "Not to much pink!" in her Mommy 's handwriting. "This must have been when they were planning their wedding."

"Yeah," Josie said as she leaned over to look too. "But they had a church wedding. That's a garden wedding."

"I guess they changed their minds." Sophie said as she continued to flip the pages.

Josie frowned a little. A few months ago after it was announced that the new administration would be passing a law that made same sex marriage, not just a federal civil union which had been legal for a few years now, legal her mothers had pulled out all the wedding pictures and video and had started talking about how they wished this would have been law when they'd gotten married, but how it hadn't really mattered because they'd been so solid without it. As they looked through the pictures Josie had noticed something for the first time; her Abuela wasn't in any of the pictures. "Neither of them are overly religious Soph, so why a church wedding?"

"Mommy is." Sophie said. "Kinda, I mean she is privately, and openly when it matters. My guess would be that they had a church wedding for Abuela."

"But she didn't even come." Josie replied with a sad, angry look on her face. It had hurt to find out that her Abuela had hurt her Mommy the way she had when she'd found out that her grandmother had turned her back on her because she loved her Mama. "Poor Mommy."

Sophie turned to look at her sister with concern. When they'd first found out about the rift between their Mom and grandmother it had kind of freaked the younger girl out. Suddenly Josie thought that there was a possibility of her doing something sometime down the road that would cause their mothers to hate her, to turn away from her, and it had scared the girl so badly she'd had nightmares for months. "Abuela regrets hurting Mommy the way she did, and you know M&M would never, ever do something like that to us."

"I know." Josie said with a soft smile to reassure her big sister she was fine. "It's just that they didn't get the wedding they wanted because they were trying to please other people who kinda spit on their effort. That's kinda sad."

Sophie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, everyone should get the wedding they want, not the wedding other people want for them." Brown eyes the color of their Mommy 's looked back down at the notebook for a moment before lighting up. "Josie! You're a genius!"

Josie turned blue eyes the color of their Mama's onto her sister with a rather confused expression. "I am?"

"You know how we've been struggling to think of an anniversary present for them?" Sophie asked. Their mothers' fifteenth wedding anniversary was a few short months away and both girls had come up short in the idea department. Josie gave her a nod to go on. "Lets give them this!"

"You want to give them the notebook back?" Josie asked, still looking confused.

Sophie rolled her eyes. "No goofball. Lets give them the wedding they originally wanted!"

Josie loved the idea and for a Moment she looked as excited as her sister. Then her brightness dimmed a little. "Exactly how much allowance do you get Soph? Aren't weddings expensive?"

"Yeah," Sophie said as she bit her lip while she thought this out. "We'll need help, not just with money but with planning, but I'm sure everyone who loves them will help us pull this off. So what do you say?" She held out her hand for her sister to shake. "You in?"

"I'm in!" Josie agreed as she took Sophie's hand.

"Girls!" Callie called up the steps. "Did you fall into a vortex or something? Come on, lunch is ready and you're brother's starving!"

Both girls giggled as Sophie called, "Coming Mommy!"

Addison Montgomery was surprised to get a page to an on-call room mainly because her girlfriend of the last couple of months had the day off. She was even more surprised when she got to the on-call room and saw Mark Sloan of all people heading for the same room. "Um, excuse me, but aren't you married?"

Mark looked confused. "Yeah, I am, so why are you paging me here? We gave up midday on-call room sex years and years ago."

"I didn't page you." Addison said in a huff as she crossed her arms. "If I were going to page anyone for hot midday on-call room sex it would be Teddy."

"Good to know." The tall, slender, blonde cardio goddess said with a smirk. "Is that why you paged me?"

"I didn't page you either!" Addison said, looking even more confused then she did a moment ago.

Teddy was about to say something when the door to the on-call room opened and Sophie's head popped out. "Would you three be quite and come in before someone sees you." Then she dropped her voice to a harsh whisper. "And unless you want to explain to my Moms why their twelve year old is asking about on-call room sex, which I really didn't need to know about by the way, I'd stop that line of conversation."

The three adults looked at each other, each one blushing in various shades of red, and then followed the teen inside. Mark looked at his daughters for a moment before crossing his arms over his chest and asking them. "You two paged us here?"

Josie nodded. "You and Aunt Addie are Mommy's best friends other then Mama of course. And Aunt Teddy is Mama's best friend, other then Mommy of course. We would have asked Uncle Owen cause he's Mama's Mark, but we didn't think this was his kinda thing. Sophie and I want to do something for our Moms for their anniversary and we need your help, as their friends, and because you're adults and we're not."

"No question what so ever that she's Arizona's daughter." Teddy teased while the other two nodded in agreement after Josie's breathless ramble.

"What do you want our help with?" Addison asked the girls. Something about the look in their eyes told the redhead she was going to love this.

Sophie smiled. "Josie found this in our attic."

Yeap, she was absolutely going to love this! "That's the wedding notebook!" Addison said excitedly as she took the notebook from her niece. "They worked on this the whole time Callie was recovering after the accident. Months and months of planning, lots of good-natured bickering, and lots and lots of giggles; this little notebook really helped your Moms during a really tough time."

"And then they scrapped it all in a failed attempt to make the whole thing easier on Callie's Mom." Mark added with a shake of his head.

"That's why we want to do it now." Sophie explained. "It's perfect, their fifteenth anniversary is coming up and now that it's legal they can have the wedding they should have had. The one they planned."

Josie nodded so hard in agreement with her sister she looked like a bobble head doll. "We have the money part worked out, we just need your help to plan it and pull it off."

"How exactly do you have the money part worked out?" Teddy asked with a raised eyebrow.

The girls looked at each other and then looked at the adults with bright smiles as they said in unison. "Abuelo."

"Grandpa wants to help too, but Abuelo said he'd cover it all." Josie clarified.

"He said it was the least he and Abuela could do after she put a dark cloud over the first one." Sophie added.

Addison was beaming. "I'm totally in."

"So am I." Teddy said with a smile nearly as bright as Addison's. "And even if it's not his thing I'm sure Owen would love to help where he can."

"Of course I'm in." Mark said as he put his arms around his girls' shoulders. "This is really sweet of you girls. I'm really proud of you for wanting to do this for your Moms."

That weekend had been Mark's weekend with his kids, which made getting organized quickly easy. While Lexie kept four-year-old Mac busy, the kid couldn't keep a secret to save his life, Josie, Sophie and their mothers' best friends worked out a plan. Sophie, being every inch a Robbins, created an operations manual that impressed even Teddy and Owen. Everyone was given their assignments and they kept each other updated. Teddy was able to book the venue that Callie and Arizona had wanted, a beautiful botanical garden large enough to hold both the ceremony and the reception. Mark and Owen worked on catering, music, and pretty much all the non-girly aspects. Owen was in charge of invitations. Because this was a surprise, the invitations would be rather last minute, but not to last minute that people wouldn't be able to come, they would have plenty of time to plan their attendance. The reason the girls gave this job to Owen was because most people were a little bit afraid of the Army vet and they knew that if Hunt said to keep this secret they'd keep it secret. Then just to be extra sure, they'd asked their Aunt Miranda to back him up.

Dresses would be a challenge since not knowing about needing a wedding dress meant their mothers couldn't try them on or be fitted. Addison was in charge of that. She'd taken the notebook to her personal seamstress for a general idea, and then tricked Callie and Arizona into a Saturday of shopping and lunch with her and Teddy. The seamstress got to know the brides to be, got the measurements she needed, and then worked on dresses that wouldn't need to be tailored. Mark took the girls to Callie's favorite jeweler where they picked out a thinner matching band to the bands their mothers already wore. Thanks to the wedding notebook, Sophie's Ops manual and everyone working together the wedding was coming along nicely, and as far as they knew Callie and Arizona were completely in the dark.

"Our daughters are up to something." Callie said as she watched Sophie and Josie, Mac in tow this time, bolt out the door for yet another afternoon with their Dad.

"What makes you think that?" Arizona asked, though she pretty much had the same suspicion.

Callie sat her coffee mug in the sink as she asked, "When was the last time you had to yell at them about bickering or fighting or going overboard with the teasing?"

Arizona had to think about that for a moment. "It's been weeks."

"See." Callie said pointedly. "They're getting along to well. They're spending an awful lot of time together, and with Mark, and Addie, and Teddy. They're all up to something."

A bright grin appeared on Arizona's face as she moved closer to her wife. "Ya know, there is a plus side to them being out so much lately." Her grin turned into more of a smirk as Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie before leaning close and kissing her. "We're all alone, Calliope, and I can think of a few things that we could do with this free time."

Callie couldn't help but smile back at the beautiful blonde. "Such as?"

"Come up upstairs and find out." Arizona teased as she pulled away from her Latina lover and headed out of the room and up the stairs.

"They can't have separate parties, Soph." Josie said with a dramatic sigh from the back of their Dad's car. They were on their way to pick out the cake, which meant lots of cake test tasting. She'd been so excited about it that she'd practically bounced around the house all morning.

"Why not?" Sophie asked from the front.

Josie sighed again and rolled her eyes. "Because they pretty much have the same friends, and it wouldn't be fair to those friends to make them choose."

"She has a point." Mark said while he drove. "Which is why I've already taken care of the party."

"You did?" His daughters ask in unison, which causes him to laugh.

"Yes I did." Mark replied. "I've rented out Joe's for the night."

The girls smile. "That's perfect. Great idea, Dad." Sophie says as she beams at him.

"We get to go to a bar!" Josie giggles.

Everyone had a job to do, but there was one thing that Josie had decided to do on her own. While Sophie and their Dad were working on something for the reception Josie took her Dad's phone and went into his den. Josie smiled brightly when her Gram appeared on the small screen of her Dad's phone. "Hi Gram."

"Hello sweetheart." Barbara Robbins greeted brightly. "How's the mission going?"

"Right on track." Josie replied. "Aunt Teddy is going to send you an email with all the details."

Barbara smiled a dimpled smile. "Grandad and I have already made our travel arrangements."

Josie nodded in approval. "Gram, I need you to do me a favor."

"Anything sweetheart." Barbara replied.

Josie took a moment because she knew this wasn't going to be an easy request. "I need you to bring some things, some of Uncle Timothy's things, from his dress uniform."

Barbara's smiled faulted a little. "Josie."

"I know." Josie said. "I know Granddad doesn't like to talk about him. I know it makes him sad. I understand that, and I love him and I don't want to make him sad. But this isn't about Granddad, this is about my Mama, and my Mama loved her brother very much. So I need you to bring these things so Uncle Owen can help me set up a Fallen Solider marker for my Mama's brother."

Barbara listened and more importantly watched her granddaughter's eyes. She had Arizona's eyes, and she didn't just mean in color. Like Arizona, Josie's emotions, her thoughts played out in her eyes. "Ok sweetheart. What do you need?"


	14. Age Twelve: White Wedding: Part Two

White Wedding

Part Two

It had taken a lot of work and there had been some stumbling, but Sophie, Josie and their grown-ups had pulled it off. It hadn't been easy at times because their mothers had become suspicious, but the girls held out and refused to give in to their prodding. As the day of the anniversary wedding drew closer the more nervous the girls got. What if something went wrong at the last minute? What if their Moms didn't want another wedding? As they waited at Joe's with their Dad Josie in particular looked like she was going to be ill from being worried so much.

"Don't worry mi amor." Carols said as he put his arm around his granddaughter's shoulders. "You're mothers are going to be so touched by what you and your hermana have done for them." He hugged her, giving her a beaming smile to show just how proud of her he was. "They should be here soon."

"Come on Callie." Addison nearly whined. "Just one drink, Arizona's going, she already told Teddy she would."

Callie looked over at the redhead as she changed out of her scrubs. "She did?"

Addison nodded and gave her friend her best smile. "Mark has your kids right? And it's been a long week. We could all use a drink and a little down time."

She had had a hell of a week, and a drink sounded good, but tomorrow was her and Arizona's wedding anniversary and she still needed to make reservations somewhere. She bought Arizona's gift weeks ago, but Bailey had kept them so busy neither had been able to make any real plans. "One drink."

Addison looked more then pleased with herself and nearly bounced as she said, "Just one I promise."

Callie laughed. "Quit bouncing. You are spending way to much damn time with my wife."

Teddy had used the same line with Arizona, telling her that Callie had already agreed, which made Arizona sigh. She'd really just wanted to go home and start her long weekend off with her wife, but she guessed one drink would be ok. She was tired as she and Teddy walked across the street to Joe's, but the sight of Callie standing there waiting with Addison made her smile. The sight of Callie, even now after all their years together, still made her smile.

"Hey beautiful." Callie greeted as the blonde went right into her arms for a hug. "Hey, you ok?"

Arizona nodded. "Long day."

The four women made their way to the door of the bar only to have Callie and Arizona pause. "It's closed for a private party." Callie said as she stood there with Arizona's hand in her own.

Both Teddy and Addison were smiling so brightly it made their friends suspicious. "We know." Addison said as she opened the door. "Go on in."

Callie and Arizona stared at the other two women for several seconds before looking at each other to see if the other knew anything. When it was clear to both of them that the other one was just as much in the dark, they went back to looking oddly at their friends.

"Oh just get your asses inside." Teddy said with half a chuckle half huff.

Knowing it would be senseless to argue with either of the best friends Callie and Arizona walked into Joe's. The moment they appeared a huge cry of surprise rang out, causing Arizona to yelp and jump and Callie to look on wide-eyed.

"What is this?" Callie asked as she looked around the room to see their friends and family. "And why are my kids in a bar?"

"It's the start of a very special weekend." Mark said brightly. "All thanks to your amazing daughters."

"Happy Anniversary!" Sophie and Josie sang out as the rushed to hug their mothers.

Callie laughed happily as tears welled in her eyes. "I told you they were up to something."

"Oh this is just the tip of what they've been up too." Addison said as she watched Callie and Arizona switch girls to hug. "This my darlings is a matrons' party."

"A matrons' party?" Arizona asked with a very confused look that didn't match the tears in her eyes.

Mark nodded. "Like a bachelorettes' party, only you're both already married, and way past maidens stage."

"A bachelorettes party?" Callie asked this time. Then she glared. "Watch who you're calling old Sloan."

Josie looked up at her befuddled mothers and said brightly, "You're getting married tomorrow!"

"We are?" Callie and Arizona asked in unison.

Sophie nodded while Josie ran off to grab something. When the nearly bursting with excitement little blonde came back she was holding the notebook which she held out to her mothers. "We found this in the attic."

"Oh, wow, I'd nearly forgotten about that." Arizona said as she watched Callie take the notebook and flip through it.

"Dad, Aunt Addie and Aunt Teddy helped a lot." Sophie said brightly. "And we really couldn't have done it without Abuelo."

"All I did was give you my credit card." Carols said as he stepped up with a beaming smile of his own.

"Daddy." Callie said softly as new tears welled in her eyes. She walked over to her father and hugged him tightly. "Daddy, you didn't have to do this. You just helped with Sophie's quinceanera."

Carols beamed at his daughter and Arizona who'd come to get her own hug from him. "What good is money to an old man if he can't use it to make his mijas happy, hmm?" When he'd said mijas he'd caressed both their faces, making it very clear that as far as he was concerned Arizona was his little girl too. "Besides, you're mother insisted."

That caught Callie off guard. "Mom? My Mom? Insisted that you pay for my second gay wedding?"

"The fact that you sound so shocked, even now, tells me just how much I messed up." Lucia Torres said as she came up to her family. "I allowed my ideals and beliefs, my closed mindedness, to blind me from what really, truly mattered." The older Latina took her daughter's hands in her own. "You being happy and well loved. Because of my stubbornness I missed my little girl's wedding, I missed the first few years of my granddaughters' lives, their christenings, their first birthdays, their first Christmases. I missed out on getting to know this wonderful young woman." She let go of one of Callie's hands so she could take Arizona's hand as well. "Who has allowed me to call her daughter despite having every right to hate me."

"Lucia." Arizona began but was cut off.

Lucia shook her head. "If Sofia had ever hurt Carlos the way I hurt Callie, I would have never forgiven her, and because I know you love your Torres as much as I love mine, I know there's a small part of you that hasn't completely forgiven me, and that's alright, mija. I haven't completely forgiven myself for hurting her either."

"Mami." Callie said softly with tears in her eyes.

"Te amo mi hija." Lucia said as she took Callie's face in her hands and then placed a kiss on her forehead.

Callie closed her eyes as she whispered back, "Te amo Mami."

When the overwhelmed and enormously proud mothers were able to tear themselves away from their children, who they not only felt bless to love but blessed to be loved by, and their parents, the Robbins had finally arrived from the airport, they made their way over to their daughters' partners in crime. Callie simply shook her head at them as Arizona stared in disbelief.

"What?" Mark asked with a smug smirk. "Oh Blondie, you haven't see anything yet. Just wait until tomorrow."

"You guys are going to love this." Teddy added. "And if any one deserved this it's the two of you. This should have been legal the first time, but I guess better late then never."

"Wait, legal?" Arizona asked, and then her eyes went wide. "It can't be legal, we never had time to… we don't have a…."

Addison pulled an envelope out of her purse and handed it to Callie.

"How did you get us a marriage license without us being there?" Callie asked.

"I have connections." Addison said with a smug smirk.

"We had dinner with a senator." Teddy said in awe of her girlfriend.

Addison just shrugged. "Like I said, I have connections."

The rest of the evening was about having fun. The Robbins took Mac home when it was close to his bedtime, and a few hours later the Torres' took the girls home, leaving Callie, Arizona and their friends to have a more adult friendly evening. Though one of the main topics of the night was the fact that Lucia Torres could out drink Meredith Grey in tequila. Callie tried to console her friend by saying that her mother was half Mexican and therefore had an advantage but that didn't help. Meredith had still been out tequilaed by an old woman.

The next morning was a rush of last minute details followed by a catered brunch that went a lot better then the one they'd had before their first wedding. Lucia doted on her grandchildren, rather then ignoring them a refusing to even touch them. Daniel Ribbons wasn't questioning why Mark was there, and had stopped calling him the sperm donor years ago. After brunch Addison and Lucia took charge of Callie, while Teddy and Barbara took charge of Arizona. They were each driven over to the gardens in two classic cars that Carlos had rented; Callie came by her love of classic cars naturally. While Lexi helped the girls get ready, Mark helped Mac into his new little suit.

"Dad." The four year old complained. "I don't like it." He said as he pulled on the tie.

"I know bud." Mark said as he once again fixed his son's tie. "But this is for your Moms, and besides, you look make this look good."

Mac turned to look at his self in his Dad's mirror. After he checked his self out he checked out his Dad's reflection, and then he beamed, "Sloan men, we're that good."

"Damn right." Mark agreed as he and his son did a fist bump.

As soon as she'd gotten to the venue Josie went looking for her Uncle Owen. She had several very special items with her that she'd been taking very special care of since her Gram had given them to her that morning. As the elder Robbins told Josie about each item there'd been tears in her eyes, and Josie couldn't help put hug her grandmother tight afterwards. Sometimes she thought about growing up and becoming a Marine just like her grandfather and her uncle, but then she thought about how much that would scare her mothers, especially her Mama and she'd change her mind.

Owen had set up a small table with a tall white candle and in front of it was what looked like wooden steps. When he was in Iraq he'd used the guns, helmets, boots, and dog tags of more men and boys then he wished to count to make Fallen Solider memorials. Every once in awhile ever since he'd met her, he'd wondered if Arizona's brother had ever crossed his path, but then he somehow knew he hadn't because if he had he would have tried his very best to save him. When he saw Josie coming he smiled at the way she walked so carefully, so reverently with her Uncle's things.

"Do you think Mama will know?" Josie asked. "That's she'll understand?"

"I know she will." Owen said as he took the most awkward thing she was carrying from her. "Do you remember how this will work?"

Josie nodded and then she smiled brightly at her ginger haired uncle. "You look very handsome in your uniform, Uncle Owen."

Owen gave her a dazzling smile that made his soft blue eyes twinkle. "Wearing it to honor my best friend's brother was the least I could do."

"Oh Addison." Callie said breathlessly as she looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was white, beaded with silver and clear crystal, with a long slightly full skirt. It was modern, edgy, with a dash of traditional just like Callie.

"I had the one in the notebook updated so it was more with today's style and a little more with the fact that your fifteen years older then you use to be." Addison said with a warm, beaming smile as she watched her friend looking at her own reflection.

"Hey." Callie warned. "What the hell's up with the old jokes lately? I'm not old!"

"I didn't say old." Addison replied. "I said older."

Callie huffed but she was smiling too much for it to mean much. "Just remember your way older then me."

Over in Arizona's dressing room Teddy was helping Arizona put on the necklace that Callie had given her that morning. Arizona's surgeon's hands had been shaking as she tried to fasten the clasp, so Teddy had taken over. This was all still so surreal to her. Her dream wedding was waiting for her, she was wearing an updated version of the white Grecian style dress she'd wanted fifteen years ago, and her daughters, her babies, had done this for her with the help of the people who she loved the most.

"Arizona if you start crying again you're going to mess up your make up again, and you're Mom's gonna pitch a fit." Teddy said as she put her hands on her best friend's shaking shoulders.

"I'm sorry." Arizona said as she fanned at her eyes. "I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed."

Teddy gave her a warm reassuring smile. "I know."

Everything was timed so that that the ceremony would be a sunset ceremony, which Callie and Arizona threatened to throw off, when they saw their children dressed so beautifully with all their hugs and kisses. Sophie had on a strapless cream dress with a pink sash around her waist; Josie's dress was the same color, with the same sash, but with straps and a slightly fuller skirt. Mac's suit was a shade darker but still cream colored with a white shirt, pink vest, tie, and a little matching handkerchief in the jacket pocket.

After some gentle prodding from their fathers the gushing mothers finally let their children go and the ceremony began. Mac walked down the very pink aisle first, then Josie, and then Sophie who all took seats in the front row. Addison and Mark, followed by Teddy and Owen were next. They took their respective sides, Addison and Mark on Callie's, with Teddy and Owen on Arizona's. When the bridal march started Arizona was the first to walk down the aisle on her father's arm, and this time as she watched her stunningly beautiful Calliope walk down the aisle towards her, she was on the arm of her own father, her smile so big and bright she could have lit up the whole country.

Because this was about Callie and Arizona, about family and friends, Miranda Bailey who a very few knew was a legal officiate was standing at the top of the dais waiting for them. "We are here today to celebrate love, and happiness, and loyalty, and in my option a little bit of magic. Today we celebrate and honor Callie and Arizona and the amazing life these two people have created together. Many of us have watched as they grew not only as individuals, but also as a couple, and as parents. We have seen them at their worst, as well as their best, at their lowest points and at their highest, and we have seen how that when all is said and done they are together, stronger, better, and even more in love then before."

It was taking a lot for Callie and Arizona both not to engulf the tiny woman as she spoke, and the only reason they hadn't was because this was Bailey and their second wedding or not she'd probably smack them for it.

After a slight pause Bailey said, "Before we begin the actual ceremony Josephine wanted to make absolutely sure everything and everyone who'd been missing from her Moms first wedding, was here for this one. For Callie, this means that her mother has finally caught up to God and is here for her daughter today. For Arizona, this means we take a moment to remember her brother, First Lieutenant Timothy Daniel Robbins, of the U.S. Marine Corps."

For the first time Arizona noticed the table with the candle and the wooden steps. Her eyes grew large and quickly filled with tears when she realized that on the lower step were the freshly polished to perfection shoes of her brother's dress uniform, and that it was his saber mounted on the top step, his hat perched on top, and his dog tags hanging from the saber's hilt. She felt her knees weaken and Callie's arm go around her waist to help keep her standing as her children walked up to the table, her daughters' help their brother who carried his uncle's name as they lit the candle together. She dared a glace at her father who stood at attention so proudly as he watched his grandchildren honor his own son. She saw her best friends who were also standing at attention and saluting a fellow solider who had severed and died in the same war they'd made in home from. Not for the first time Arizona wondered if maybe Tim hadn't set Teddy and Owen into her life, even if they were just Army and not Marines, they could understand her in ways her other friends simply couldn't.

As soon as her children stepped away from the table Arizona rushed to them and pulled all three into her arms. Several minutes passed until finally Callie called out, "Um, Arizona, if you don't let them go and come back over here, by the time we finish this it'll be our twenty-fifth anniversary."

"Sorry." Arizona said as she kissed each of her babies one last time before returning to Callie's side. "Sorry."

Miranda just smiled at the woman. "No need to be sweetie."

Ever since finding out what their loved one's had done both women thought about what they wanted to take the opportunity to say. They had both worked out a general idea but knew that in the moment they would simply say what needed to be said.

"I take you Calliope Iphigenia Robbins-Torres to be my wife; to be the person I continue to share my life with. You are my one, my person, the other half of me. I have loved you from the moment I saw you and I will continue to love you forever. Our journey together hasn't been an easy one; we have both faltered and stumbled, but we always found our way back to each other, and when it really mattered we were always there for each other. We make each other better, we make each other stronger, we are good men in a storm."

Callie had tears in her eyes and when Arizona was finished she leaned in to kiss her only to have Bailey put her hand on her shoulder. "Not yet Torres." Callie actually pouted which made Arizona, who's own eyes had yet to dry up, giggle.

"I take you Arizona Faith Robbins-Torres to be my wife; to be the person I continue to share my life with." Callie began, mirroring Arizona's initial vow, but then she continued with her own words. "I chose you to be the one I spend my life with, and I will continue to choose you to be the one I spend my life with. You're my dream Arizona. Even now all these years later, you're still my dream, and you always will be. You turn my dreams into reality, Arizona, because you and I, we truly were made for each other."

Their mothers were crying openly with huge megawatt smiles on their faces, there were tears in the fathers' eyes, Addison was sniffling behind Callie, and even Teddy did a lightening quick brush of the back of her hand across her cheek. The only one who wasn't in tears was Bailey as she asked for the rings.

"We're wearing our rings." Callie said.

Mark snorted. "Not those, these."

Mark passed a little pink, Sophie had totally ignored her Mommy's notes on there not being to much pink, box to Addison as Owen passed a matching box to Teddy. The redhead and tall blonde opened the boxes and Bailey reached for the one in Teddy's hand first. She handed the thin companion band to the ones Callie and Arizona already had on to Arizona.

There was a super magic smile on Arizona's face as she slipped the band onto Callie's finger. "I love you."

After taking the band from Bailey, Callie slipped it onto Arizona's finger, nestling it up against her other rings. "I love you."

Callie and Arizona were a little surprised when Owen suddenly produced a small table. They watched as Addison handed Bailey their marriage license, and Mark handed her a very expensive looking pen. Their guests watched as Callie, Arizona, and then Bailey signed the finally legal document. Bailey was beaming as she said, "By the power vested in me by the state of Washington, and because a whole lot of stupid people finally took their heads outta their asses, I now pronounce you, legally and officially wife and wife. Now, Torres, you can kiss your bride."

The kiss was probably a little longer and little deeper then it should have been with their mothers, fathers, and children watching but it didn't seem to bother them since they were the loudest ones cheering.

A tent had been set up for the reception. It was just as beautifully decorated as the garden had been, and just like the garden looked as if it had come straight from their notebook. It was staggering to realize how much effort their loved ones, their daughters had put into giving them their dream wedding. Even the cake, which they hadn't been able to agree on back then, was a perfect mix of what they both wanted with a slight variation that they knew was their daughters' doing. Rather then a simple cake topper of two brides, the figures at the top of the seven-tiered cake were perfect little replicas of Callie and Arizona. On the tier below the very top one, sitting on the edge of the cake, were perfect little replicas of Sophie, Josie, Mac, Rosie and Grey.

"Mac insisted on the dogs." Teddy said with a laugh as Callie and Arizona took a few minutes to look over the details of the cake.

The first dance was to With This Kiss by Amy Sky. Callie held Arizona in her arms; happy that these dresses let them get much closer then their first ones. They swayed together as Callie softly sang along so that only Arizona could hear her, which of course brought fresh tears to Arizona's eyes. This time around there were two father daughter dances. The first was to I Loved Her First; Callie danced with her father, Arizona with hers, and Josie with hers. The second dance was to Frank Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight; Callie danced with the Colonel, Arizona danced with Carlos and Sophie danced with Mark. Mac, not wanting to be left out, had picked his own dance song. Everyone laughed as they watched Mac and his Moms do the chicken dance.

The music playing was as diverse as the people in the room. Romantic ballads were followed by cheery Disney songs, 80s pop was followed by Euro Techno pop, and of course there was plenty of Latin music. Mark stood off to the side as Orishas' Represent, Cuba played out from the sound system, torn between watching Callie and Arizona who he had to admit looked hot as hell dancing to music Callie grew up on, and his youngest daughter who was dancing with Chris Shepherd. "Should I be worried about that?"

Derek looked over to where his friend was pointing. He watched for a moment and then shook his head. "No, of course not."

"She's really good at that kind of dancing." Mark said with a frown.

"She's being raised by a Latina mother who loves to dance." Derek said with a chuckle. He slapped his friend on the back as he shook his head. "She's perfectly safe with my son, Mark."

A couple of songs later Derek poked his friend on the shoulder. "Ok, now that, I'd worry about."

Josie was now slow dancing to a Selena song with Michael Karev. They were really close together and moving really slowly to the music. There was a bright smile on Josie's face and a dopey one on Michael's.

"I should go break that up." Mark said and started to walk off.

"Mark leave them alone." Callie called out when she noticed what Mark was going to do.

Mark didn't look happy but he stopped. Lexie rolled her eyes as she drug her husband to the other side of the tent away from his daughters before some poor boy got a shrimp fork in the eye.

Everyone stopped dancing to watch Carlos and Lucia dance. Callie held Arizona in her arms and beamed, she was so happy she thought she might actually spontaneously combust. As things were winding down Mark walked up the bridal table with a huge grin on his face. He handed a pretty pink envelope to each of the brides.

"What's this?" Callie asked.

"Open them and find out." Mark replied as he took his seat.

Everyone watched as Callie and Arizona opened their gifts. "Mark?"

"Honeymoon." Mark said simply. He pointed to the tickets and travel details in Callie's hand. "Seven day Caribbean cruise." Then he pointed to the tickets and travel details in Arizona's hand. "Followed by a seven day Disney cruise that your children will be joining you on."

Josie's eyes went wide when she heard her Dad say they were going on a Disney cruise with their Moms. "Really?"

"Really." Mark said with a beaming smile.

"Best! Dad! Ever!" Josie cheered as she hopped out of her chair and did a little wiggly happy dance.

"Best day ever." Arizona whispered later that night as she lay in her wife's arms while they both recovered from making love again. Even their wedding night had been planned for with a bridal suite at the Archfield.

Callie tightened her hold on her wife and then kissed her softly. "Every time I marry you it's the best day ever."

Arizona giggled. "You've only married me twice."

"I'd marry you over and over again for the rest of our lives." Callie said while beaming so bright she lit up the room.

"I thought I was the mushy one?" Arizona teased as she shifted her body so she was laying on top of Callie.

Callie smiled up at her beautiful blonde wife. "You can be the mushy one tomorrow when we have to say good bye to our wonderful, amazing, awesome babies at the airport."

A slight frown tugged at Arizona's lips. "I hate that part."

"Me too." Callie replied as she traced Arizona's bottom lip with her fingertip. "But it's only a week and then we get to have them with us."

That brighten the blonde considerably. "A Disney cruise!" She squealed. "It's going to be awesome!"

Callie laughed as she cupped her wife's face in her hands. "I love you."

Arizona smiled, her eyes sparkling with so much love and desire. "I love you too."


	15. Age Thirteen:First Crush First Heartache

When she was nine years old Josephine Robbins-Torres had suddenly discovered that her Aunt Miranda's son Tuck made her nervous. At first this had the little girl totally baffled because she'd grown up with Tuck, he'd been another member of her very special extended family, and then bam, suddenly he wasn't just Aunt Miranda's Tuck anymore. He was Tuck Bailey-Jones and he was handsome and smart and funny and Josie had a major crush on him. For the first few months after she discovered that Tuck caused butterflies in her tummy, Josie avoided him as much as she could because she didn't understand that she had a crush. Tuck hadn't understood either. Josie had always been one of his favorite little Seattle Grace cousins and when she'd started avoiding him it had hurt a little. His Mama had to finally fill in him that little Josie Torres was crushing on him and crushing hard. For Josie it had been her big sister Sophie who schooled her on what she was feeling and why Tuck suddenly caused butterflies in her tummy. Sophie was only twelve at the time but Josie figured her big sister knew everything a kid should know, plus Sophie had a secret boyfriend so to Josie she was the go to when it came to this kind of thing.

After talking to her sister Josie had felt a little better and shortly after her tenth birthday she'd completely given in to her crush. If Tuck was anywhere in her vicinity Josie would be at his heels like a lovesick puppy. Tuck was really good about the whole thing. He neither encouraged nor discouraged the crush; he simply let things follow naturally. Josie's Moms, Doctors Callie and Arizona Robbins-Torres, weren't phased by the crush either. They'd known it was bound to happen and honestly they were glad it was with someone safe and trustworthy as Tuck. Josie's father on the other hand, Doctor Mark Sloan, was not thrilled with the idea of either of his girls liking anyone. His biggest fear was that his princesses would wind up meeting the next generation of manwhore and he'd end up killing some poor bastard.

Josie's crush had had some welcomed advantages. Her already above average math skills went up because Tuck was showing her how to work problems she wouldn't have for another two grade levels, and subjects like History and English stopped being the bain of her existence because Tuck was more inclined to the liberal arts and the humanities. Callie and Arizona also found it helpful that Tuck was willing to spend time with Josie and used that whenever they needed a sitter during the times when Josie insisted she was way to old to have a sitter. Josie wasn't stupid, she knew what her mothers were up too, but she didn't care. She got to spend time with Tuck and that was what mattered. Tuck always took her to at least two Huskies basketball games every season, they went to the movies, he took her to his favorite coffee shop and treated her like a real person and not some little kid.

When she was eleven Tuck was finishing up his last year of high school. The afternoon of his senior prom he showed up at the hospital dressed in his tux and looking sharp just because Josie had asked to see him all dressed up. Tuck had done better then just showing up to let her see him, he'd gotten her a wrist corsage and danced with her to Bubbly, which was one of her favorite Colby Caillat songs, in the middle of the big compass in the center of the surgical main lobby. Josie had floated around in a little pink bubble of bless all summer long after that. Her pretty pink bubble popped at the end of that summer though because Tuck had decided to go to Georgetown University in Washington D.C. which was clear across the country, and it had hit Josie hard.

"_Josie." Callie called through her daughter's door after knocking. As she opened the door she said, "We're about ready to go, mija, are you ready?" _

"_I'm not going." Josie said without turning away from the window. _

_Callie was a little startled to see Josie sitting in her window seat with her knees drawn up to her chest, her head resting atop her knees, with her face turned towards the glass. "What do you mean you're not going? Of course you're going. This is Tuck's going away dinner." She heard a very subdued sniffle come from her baby girl and then it hit Callie like a load of bricks. "Oh, baby, it's Tuck's going away dinner." _

"_He's going to forget all about me." Josie said when she felt her Mommy sit near her feet. _

"_No," Callie reassured. "Josie he won't."_

"_He's only been hanging out with me cause Aunt Miranda told him to be nice." Josie said with hurt and a touch of anger her voice. "And because you and Mama needed a babysitter." _

"_That isn't true Josephine." Callie said firmly as she cupped her daughter's chin to make Josie look at her. "Tuck has known you your whole life. You've known him your whole life. Do you really think he'd be your friend out of obligation? Josie, Tuck loves you, and you love him, and you two have a very special relationship. Yeah, sure, right now you're little heart is crushing mad on him, but when that crush finally comes to an end, and baby it will, Tuck is still going to be family to you." _

_Josie thought about what her Mommy was saying, and she knew her Mommy was right, but that didn't stop the tears as she flung her arms around her Mommy's neck. "I'm gonna miss him." _

"_He's gonna miss you too, mija." Callie said as she held Josie and rubbed her back soothingly. "But he'll email, he'll call, he'll text, you could write old fashion snail mail letters to each other, you'll still be able to play whatever i-game your playing together, and he'll come back to visit. Seattle's still home for him, baby, his Mama's here, and you're here." _

_It took a little more encouragement from her Mommy but Josie finally felt better about Tuck leaving, and the family made it to Miranda's just a little late. _

"_Everything ok?" Miranda asked Callie and Arizona softly when they finally arrived. _

"_Minor meltdown." Callie told her friend. "Josie's not happy about Tuck leaving." _

_Miranda snorted. "She's not the only one. That's my baby boy taking off into the world."_

_Josie was feeling a little uneasy but that melted away as soon as she saw Tuck who gave her an insanely wide grin. _

"_There's my best girl!" Tuck called out as came over and scooped Josie up to give her a hug. "I thought you were going to stand me up at my own party." Tuck could tell that something was wrong and he had a pretty good idea. "Guess what Jos? I got you something." _

"_You did?" Josie asked with a look of surprise. _

_Tuck nodded. "Wait right here." When he came back he was carrying a gift bag. When he reached the bottom step he motioned for Josie to come sit beside him. "So, I was talking to your Mama and she mentioned that she has a conference in D.C. in a few weeks. Now, I know we normally go to Huskies' games, but I'm a Hoyas now."_

"_What's a Hoyas?" Josie asked. _

"_It's short for Hoya Saxa which is latin or greek and it means something like what rocks." Tuck explained. "Which makes no sense cause our mascot is a bulldog, so we should be the bulldogs." He shrugged to let her know he didn't get it either, and then bumped her shoulder with his and chuckled. "Anyway, like I was saying, when you come to D.C. with your Mama we can't have you wearing Huskies gear to a Georgetown game, now can we?"_

_Josie took the bag he handed her but she was to confused to look inside. "I'm going to D.C. with Mama?" _

_Arizona nodded as she stood there with Callie and Miranda, all three of them sporting huge silly grins. "You are, unless you don't want to hang out with Tuck while I'm at my conference."_

_Once she was finished doing her happy dance Josie went through her gift bag. Tuck had gotten her a pink t-shirt with Georgetown and the schools crest on the chest, a navy blue Georgetown hoodie, and a stuffed Jack the Bulldog. _

Josie had worn her new Hoyas gear when she went to D.C. with her Mama that weekend. In fact she'd worn them until she out grew them, but either Tuck or her Moms made sure she always had something Georgetown to wear. Over the last two years she'd gotten to go visit Tuck at school, and he came home during most of his breaks. During that time Josie had also started having other crushes, three in particular, a very redheaded boy in her class that remaindered her of her Uncle Owen, a boy on her co-ed summer baseball team, and Kim, a girl in her Mandarin class, but none of them could hold a candle to Tuck.

Thirteen-year-old Josie Torres was a huge blonde bundle of energy and it was only eight in the morning. The second her feet hit the floor that morning she was wound up to the point where her Moms had yelled at her twice already to chill. Her Mommy told her it was to early in the morning and in the week to be that wired. Josie reminded her Mommy, as sweetly as she could, that it was almost Thanksgiving and that Tuck was coming home. He hadn't been home all semester; he'd gone back to D.C. after the Fourth of July and she hadn't seen him since. Her mothers breathed a great sigh of relief when they finally got to the hospital and Josie took off on her Heelies to find her Aunts Addison and Teddy. This year Thanksgiving dinner was at their house and she needed to inform them that she would, with her Aunt Miranda's help, be making a sweet potato pie for Tuck because he liked sweet potato pie rather then pumpkin. Then she went to find her Aunt Miranda to remind her that she was coming over her house later to help make said pie.

Tuck was due to meet his Mama for lunch and everyone in the hospital knew that Josie would be staking out the main lobby of the surgical wing. When twenty-year-old William George "Tuck" Bailey Jones walked into Seattle Grace - Mercy West many heads turned because he was a good-looking man. He was tall with a football player's build, but he wasn't bulky at all. Tuck had warm eyes like his Mama and a killer smile.

"Tuck!" Josie yelled from the stairs before she came barreling down them as fast she could.

"There's my best girl!" Tuck said as he flashed Josie his best smile. The girl nearly knocked him off his feet with her hug. "Hey, you're wearing the shirt I sent you! It looks nice, Jos."

"Of course I am!" Josie said as she smiled up at him. "How was your flight? Aunt Miranda is still in surgery so I'm supposed to look after you until she's finished." The girl easily slipped her hand into his as they headed towards the stairs. "There was a pretty big trauma this morning so all the ORs are full. She's in OR One, we could get a milkshake and sit in the gallery. They have a new flavor; it tastes just like an orange creamsicle. My Moms finally realized I wasn't a baby and they've been letting me watch from the gallery, but only some surgeries, nothing to gruesome."

Tuck couldn't help but laugh as Josie rambled. He actually missed listening to her go off on one of her little breathless, one-sided cause no one could get a word in, conversations. "I think an orange creamsicle shake sounds really good, Jos, but lets skip the gallery. You know I don't have the stomach for that."

"Ok." Josie replied as they made their way towards the cafeteria. Once they had their milkshakes they walked around so Tuck could say hello to all his Mama's friends while they waited on Miranda to finish her surgery.

Miranda's surgery was running a little long and it was nearly lunchtime. Josie and Tuck were standing at the main nursing station on the main surgical floor talking to Teddy and Owen. Tuck had joined, much to his Mama's dismay, Georgetown's ROTC program. Josie listened, and she wasn't any happier with the idea that Tuck might join the Army. When Tuck noticed he tried his best to reassure her that it was just a possibly and not something he was sure about, and that if he did decide to join, things now weren't like they were when Teddy, Owen and her Uncle Tim were in the service. Teddy decided to change the subject for Josie's sake and started telling Tuck about her and Addison's new twins, Evan and Erin, who he'd get to meet at Thanksgiving dinner.

"Oh my gosh they're cute!" Josie said as she began a long ramble. "Evan has blonde hair like Aunt Teddy, and Erin has red hair like Aunt Addie and they both have green eyes. Because their fraternal twins, and because Evan looks like Aunt Teddy and Erin looks like Aunt Addie, except for the eyes thing they both have blue eyes, Aunt Addie and Aunt Teddy, not the babies; Aunt Addie thinks that since they used embryos from eggs from both of them, one each got an emplaned embryo. Isn't that awesome?"

Tuck laughed. "That is pretty cool."

"Will." Someone called out which made Tuck turn to look. A huge smile appeared on his face as a beautiful young woman with tan skin and long raven hair was walking towards them. She returned Tuck's smile as she said, "The woman downstairs said I might find you up here."

Josie watched as Tuck excused himself to greet the woman. When he hugged her and kissed her cheek Josie began to feel uneasy and unconsciously moved closer to her Aunt Teddy.

"I hope I'm not late." The young woman was saying as Tuck led her over to the little group.

"My Mama's just finishing up in the OR so you're just fine." Tuck said before introducing everyone. "Dakota, this is Doctor Teddy Altman and Doctor Owen Hunt. Doctor Altman, Doctor Hunt this is Dakota Walker."

"Nice to meet." Teddy said as she shook the young woman's hand.

"Ms. Walker." Owen greeted, also shaking her hand.

Tuck beamed. "And this, this is Josie Robbins-Torres."

Dakota beamed as she held out her hand to Josie. "Well it's a real pleasure to finally meet you Josie. Will's told me so much about you."

Will? His name was Tuck. Who the hell was she anyway? Josie stared at the young woman until she felt her Aunt Teddy give her a little nudge. "Nice to meet you too." Josie said politely as she finally took Dakota's hand. "Tuck," She made a point out of saying his name. "Hasn't said a word about you."

Before this had a chance to get ugly Teddy decided to step in and rescue her niece from herself. "I hate to cut this short but we're due to meet Josie's parents and my partner for lunch. It was nice meeting you Ms. Walker. Tuck, good to see you again. We'll see you on Thursday?"

Tuck nodded. "Yes Ma'am you will."

Teddy took a firm hold of Josie's shoulder because the girl was glaring at Tuck's friend as if she were trying to make her head explode or her heart stop in her chest. As they walked away Josie began to mumble in Spanish and Teddy was pretty sure what she was saying would get her into a whole lot of trouble with Callie. "Josie, that was an awfully snippy comment you made to Ms. Walker."

Josie snorted. "She calls him Will, no one calls him Will, his name is Tuck."

"We call him Tuck." Teddy said as they got on the elevator. She didn't take her hand off Josie's shoulder until the doors closed. She wasn't sure what the girl's feeling about smacking people with bricks was so she figured she'd be safe rather then sorry. "But his name is William."

Josie went back to muttering in Spanish and a few of the words that she uttered Teddy understood. "Josephine! I know your parents don't allow you to talk that like that."

Josie had the good sense to look sheepish. "Sorry Aunt Teddy."

When they reached the cafeteria Teddy pulled a twenty from her pocket and handed it to her niece. "Get me a tuna sandwich and a bottle of water, please, and get yourself whatever you want."

"Hey," Callie said as Teddy joined her, Arizona and Addison at their normal table. "Why do you have our kid? I thought she'd be glued to Tuck's hip and be having lunch with him and Bailey."

"I think there might be an issue." Teddy said carefully.

"What kind of issue?" Arizona asked with concern.

"I'm pretty positive that she and I just met Tuck's girlfriend." Teddy told them.

"Tuck has a girlfriend?" Lexie asked as she and Meredith sat at the table with their lunches.

Teddy nodded.

"Oh crap." Arizona said as she looked at Callie. They were pretty much thinking the same thing. They're little girl was going to be heartbroken. Turning back to her best friend she asked, "What did Josie say?"

"I'm not really sure." Teddy replied. "She was rambling in Spanish. What I could understand wasn't very nice, and there was something about being a Pocahontas wannabe, that was in English, but I think only because the name doesn't translate."

"Double crap." Arizona replied. Josie was like her Mommy when it came to resorting to Spanish rants when her emotions were high.

"Who's a Pocahontas wannabe?" Christina asked as she took up a seat.

Meredith looked at her friend and said, "Bailey's son's girlfriend."

"Why is she a Pocahontas wannabe?" Christina asked.

"Because she's all tall, and tan, and has long jet black hair, and almond eyes the color of freaking almonds." Josie said as she took the only seat left, which was between her Aunts Meredith and Christina. She handed her Aunt Teddy her lunch as she continued. "And because her name is freaking Dakota." The thirteen-year-old slumped into her chair with a huff. "What kind of stupid name is Dakota anyway? It's not even a proper name! It's a freaking state! It's two freaking states! Who names their kid after a freaking state anyway?"

Every set of eyes at the table had been glued on the ranting thirteen year old and then in unison they all switched their gaze to Arizona.

"Don't look at me I was named after a battleship." Arizona said. When her daughter had gone off on the name she'd raised her eyebrow, wondering if Josie actually knew what she was even saying.

Josie wasn't out of enough steam to notice her Mama had said anything. "If they really wanted to be funny about it they should have name her North or South and used Dakota as a middle name."

That caused Christina to snort soda out of nose, which caused a bit of an uproar that finally broke Josie's rant. "Ok, that was a good." Christina said after she'd stopped sputtering. "There's hope for you yet Tiny Torres."

The small blue-eyed blonde looked confused. "What was a good one?"

"And the hope flickers." Christina teased. "What you said about the bimbo stealing your man and her stupid state name."

"Christina." Arizona says sharply.

"What?" Christina replied and then emphasizes. "Arizona."

Josie's blue eyes went wide. "Oh! Mama, I didn't mean all state names were stupid. You're name is awesome and besides you weren't named after a state you were named after a battleship and Arizona is a way cooler state then the Dakotas. I mean what do the Dakotas have anyway; flat land and buffalos? Arizona has Stevie Nicks, and pretty deserts, and mountains, and spas. And Tuck isn't my man, Aunt Christina, that's sick, that's like pedophilia or something. Tuck's just," Her voice quivered a little then and she coughed to cover it. "He's just Tuck, that's all, just Aunt Miranda's son Tuck."

Everyone at the table knew that Josie was trying really hard not to cry as she snatched her sandwich from the plate and took a huge bite out of it. They all understood that your first real crush was hard to get over; the only thing harder was loosing your first love.

Later that evening shortly after dinner there was a knock on the door. Callie smiled softly as she let Miranda in. "So, I hear Tuck has a girlfriend."

Miranda nodded as she hung her coat up. "Nice girl."

"But?" Callie prodded.

"But nothing." Miranda replied with a soft snort. "She's a nice girl. Doesn't mean I'm gonna think her or any other girl is going to be good enough for baby boy." She gave her friend a grin before letting it fade as she asked, "How's Josie?"

"Her heart's a little bruised." Callie said honestly. "But she'll be ok." They stopped at the bottom of the stairs on their way to the kitchen and Callie called up, "Josie, Aunt Miranda's here to bake pies!" They were actually making more then one pie because they knew Addison's catered dinner would need some personal touches. The reply that came back was in Spanish, and it caused Callie to frown.

"What did she say?" Miranda asked after seeing the disapproving look.

"Loosely translated, Tuck can bake his own damn pie, or better yet get the bimbo too do it." Callie answered. "Arizona's in the kitchen with Sophie and Mac. Excuse me a moment."

Miranda watched with a shake of her head as Callie climbed the stairs to talk to her daughter. She couldn't help but wonder if Josie was angry at Tuck for the same reason Miranda was. Tuck shouldn't have sprung the girl on Josie that way. He knew Josie was still crushing on him and he hadn't stopped to think how she would react to him having a girlfriend.

"Ok, see, that, what you just did there," Callie said as she walked into her daughter's room and over to her bed where Josie was sitting. "That was rude, and we don't do rude." She sat on her daughter's bed and titled Josie's head up so she could look her girl in the eyes. "I know you're feeling pretty crappy right now, and I know you feel like lashing out, and that's fine, you can lash out at me and Mama, but you're starting to push it Josephine." Callie's tone was firm, making it clear that this was in fact a scolding, but there was still a lot of support in her tone as well. She and Arizona wanted their kids to know they could come to them whenever they needed and they'd be there for them no matter what.

Callie's tone because a little more firm as she continued with the reprimand. "I've caught a couple of the words you've been muttering all afternoon, Josephine Daniela, and I know I didn't teach them to you. If you continue using them you can pretty much forget about ever playing dominos with Abuelo's friends ever again. If hanging out in Little Havana is going to be a bad influence on you, then you won't be going back to Little Havana next time we're in Miami. You don't even know this girl and you've called her things that would make a Cuban hooker blush. I don't even think you know what half of what you're saying even means, so you need to stop, those words and phrases come out of your vocabulary imminently, do you understand?"

"Yes Ma'am." Josie replied softly as she fought off the fresh burning in her eyes. Josie hated getting into trouble, the smallest reprimand was crushing for her.

"Now," Callie said, her tone softening as she reached out to caress away her daughter's tears. "You look forward to cooking with your Aunt Miranda every year. Are you really going to let the fact that your mad at Tuck keep you from doing something you enjoy? Because, mija, that's messed up. You don't ever let anyone have that kind of power of you. When you get older and you start to date, you're going to start breaking up too, and you can't let the hurt consume you."

Josie shook her head slightly. "It's not like that Mommy."

Callie tucked her daughter's pretty blonde hair behind her ears and gave her a warm smile. "I know it wasn't a real break up, but the end of a crush can hurt too, no one's saying you shouldn't feel crappy about it. All I'm saying is don't get lost in feeling crappy about it. You've never really had to share Tuck with anyone before and now you do. I know that really sucks."

Josie nodded. "Yeah, it does." The girl heaved a heavy sigh. "I feel stupid for thinking he wouldn't have a girlfriend. He had girlfriends in high school."

"You never met any of them." Callie pointed out.

Josie nodded again. She was quiet for a moment and then looked up at her Mommy again. "She knew about me. I didn't know about her."

"You feel blindsided." Callie said with a nod. "And a little hurt that he didn't tell you about her because you thought you two could always talk about the stuff in your lives."

Josie huffed. "Maybe I shouldn't even bother with boys. I'll just like girls."

Callie laughed at that. "Oh, mija, girls come with their own kind of drama. Liking people, dating, that whole mess of a mess, it's not easy. When you stick to people, two individuals, together there's bound to be conflict and adjustment and all kinds of stuff that can get tricky and a little messy."

"Then why bother?" Josie asked.

A huge smile lit up Callie's face and her eyes shone with such love it made her daughter smile. "Because someday when it's meant to happen you'll meet someone who just makes it all so worth it."

"Like you and Mama." Josie said with her first real smile since that afternoon.

"Like me and Mama." Callie agreed.

"Everything alright?" Arizona asked when her wife and their daughter walked into the kitchen.

Callie nodded while giving her a reassuring look. "Yeap, everything's fine, right mija?"

Josie nodded. She walked over to her Aunt Miranda and right into the woman's arms. There was nothing in the world like an Aunt Miranda hug. It just made her feel protected and loved. When the hug ended Josie asked, "Can we still make Tuck's pie?"

"Do you still want to make Tuck's pie?" Bailey asked.

"Yeah." Josie said with a slight nod. "We always make his pie. I bet North doesn't even know how."

Bailey raised an eyebrow. "North?"

"As in North Dakota." Arizona said while giving her daughter a disapproving look.

"Your child spends way to much time with Christina Yang." Bailey said to cover her laugh.

Everyone was a little uneasy at Thanksgiving. The Robbins-Torres gang came early to help out where they could, and because Callie couldn't get enough baby time. Everyone laughed when Arizona kept telling Callie no with Callie would give her great be puppy dog eyes while hold a baby. The unease came from worrying about how Josie would react to Tuck and his girlfriend, but they really shouldn't haven worried. Her mothers' had raised her to be kind and polite and she was. She even talked to Dakota about some shared interests. As they all watched Josie they could see the shift in her relationship with Tuck, they were still Josie and Tuck, but some of the magic was gone; and that broke her mothers' hearts.


	16. Age Thirteen: Raising Her To Be

It was an unwritten rule in all hospitals. You never say out loud that it's a slow day. You never say it out loud because the moment you do all hell breaks loose. Doctor Callie Robbins-Torres learned that the hard way. The first time she'd run the ER she'd spoke those words and seconds later they were flooded with trauma. So yes it was a slow day in Seattle Grace – Mercy West's ER, but Callie would never say that out loud. She'd come down an hour ago for a consult, twenty minutes after that Owen had his hands full with the only real trauma they'd seen all day, and since she didn't have any surgeries on the board until much later that afternoon she volunteered to run the ER while Owen took his trauma upstairs. As she made her way to the desk for the next patient chart her phone buzzed with a text from her wife saying she'd gotten a call from their daughter Josie's school and was on her way over there. Callie wondered what was going on but didn't worry about it too much because she knew that Arizona would call her as soon as she could.

"Tina Baldwin?" Callie asked as she stepped into the exam area after spending a little time familiarizing herself with the chart. There was a girl who the clipboard said was fourteen reclined on the gurney with her head back, an ice pack and a towel over her nose. Beside her was a woman that Callie assumed was her mother. "I'm Doctor Torres. Lets have a look."

"It's broken." Mrs. Baldwin said angrily. "I just know it is."

Callie gave the woman her best professional sympatric look as she carefully removed the towel and ice pack. Years of being good at her job kept her from flinching as she looked at the girl's injury. Yeah, that nose was broken, and it had to hurt like hell. "I need to have a look, Tina. This might hurt a little, I'm sorry."

While her daughter whimpered softly Mrs. Baldwin ranted. "This would never have happened if your father had listened to me and sent you to a proper Catholic school. A traditional Catholic school that still believed in morals and what's proper, but no he insisted on this heathen school that claims to teach values but lets it's students run around punching people in the face! All because of it's academic ranking. What good are academics without good morals?"

When the woman looked at her, her eyes flicking to her left hand, and then back up at her face Callie knew she was about to pull her into a conversation she really didn't want to have. "Yeah," She said to Tina gently. "I'm pretty sure that's broken. We're going to get some x-rays just to be positive and I'm going to get you a prescription for some pain meds. I just need you to hold tight for a few, ok?"

"Otay." Tina muffled.

"I'll be back." Callie told them and then stepped out of the exam area and over to the desk.

Mrs. Baldwin continued her rant behind the curtain. "That school will clearly let anyone in. You would never find those people in a…"

Callie simply shook her head, glad she didn't have to hear who those people where, and then started filling out the x-ray order and the prescription for a shot of pain meds that would also help with the swelling. She was just handing the nurse the chart when she heard, "Calliope." The tone in her wife's voice made Callie turn quickly. She watched as Arizona practically marched their thirteen year old towards her. Warm brown eyes quickly flicked to the ice pack on her daughter's right hand. "What happened?"

"Go ahead Josephine Daniela." Arizona said crossly. "Tell your mother what happened."

Josie swallowed hard as she looked up at her Mommy, which took a lot of effort because she really wanted to avoid eye contact and just stare at her shoes. "I got suspended."

Callie's eyes went wide and her jaw nearly dropped but she managed to hold back her look of surprise as best she could. "Suspended?"

Josie flinched at the raised tone.

"For three days." Arizona said with a shake of her head as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Tell her why Josephine."

"I punched a girl in the face." Josie explained and then dropped her head.

This time Callie couldn't keep the surprise off her face. She looked at her daughter; she had Arizona's build and Mark's height, which at this stage in life made her kind of lanky and awkward, and then she looked over her shoulder at where Tina Baldwin was. Was there a chance? That would be an awfully odd coincidence wouldn't it? If she was the girl Josie had slugged, her girl had skills because Tina Baldwin was twice Josie's size in every direction. "What?" Callie finally replied, turning her gaze towards her daughter once more. "Why?" She watched her daughter duck her head and turn slightly away. "Josie?"

Arizona sighed. "She wouldn't tell me either."

Callie nodded, real concern spreading across her face. Josie was in no way a violent kid. Sure she had a temper but that normally came out verbally not physically. "Lets get that hand checked out, mija."

"Ok." Josie said softly as she followed her mothers to her uncle Owen's office. She sat in his chair while her Mommy pulled up a round wheelie stool.

"You need to talk to us, mija." Callie said gently as she carefully ran her fingers over her daughter's hand, especially the knuckles. "Maybe not right this second, because you're probably feeling overwhelmed, but when we all get home. Mama and I need to know the details, Josie, so we can be fair about this. Getting suspended from school is a really big deal." When it was clear all she was going to get in reply was Josie's nod she said, "I don't think anything's broken, just bruised, but lets get an x-ray just to be sure. The bones in the hand are really small and sometimes it's hard to tell if there's any kind of fracture without films."

"Josephine, stay put." Arizona said firmly. "I need to talk to Mommy for a few minutes."

"Yes ma'am." Josie said with a sigh as she leaned back in her uncle's chair while her Mommy put the ice pack back on her hand.

Out the in the hall Callie asked, "What happened, Zo? Someone has to have a vague idea, right?"

"Her principal seems to think that something was said by this new girl." Arizona explained.

"This new girl wouldn't happen to be named Tina would she?" Callie asked as she reached for another x-ray order.

Arizona looked startled. "Yes, actually it would be. Tina Baldwin. How did you know?"

"She's in curtain three with a broken nose." Callie answered as she filled out the form for Josie's x-rays. "Whatever she said to Josie it must have been bad because Josie meant to break her nose. The break is too perfect, and there's no damage that I can see to Josie's hand. So another question we need to ask is who taught her to throw a punch like that?"

"My guess would be my Dad." Arizona answered. "He taught me how to fight, it wouldn't surprise me if he's been showing our kids when we go to visit or when they come here."

Callie couldn't help but laugh. "I'm all for teaching our kids to defend themselves, but with military skill? I mean both our girls have tempers, Arizona."

"Wonder where they get that from." Arizona teased.

"Oh no." Callie said with a snort. "I'm not taking full blame for that one little miss runaway before I find a brick."

Callie was very careful about the timing with the two pending x-rays. She didn't want the girls crossing paths, even if that might lead to finding out what went down between them. She also decided that it would be best if she didn't continue on that particular case so she handed it over to one of her residents. When Josie's films came back clean Megan, their sitter, was called to pick her up and take her home while her mothers finished off their shifts.

As soon as she got home Josie went up to her room like she'd been told before she'd left the hospital. It wasn't that Josie didn't want to tell her mothers, or that she was afraid to tell them. The fact of the matter was that she didn't want to hurt them, she didn't want to tell them what Tina had said because it had been about them. Moving over to her window seat Josie curled up and stared out over their massive backyard. At first she watched their two huskies, Rosie and Grey, play after Megan let them out, but then her thoughts drifted and she was just staring at nothing in particular. Finally after what seemed like forever without being able to uncluttered her thoughts she picked up her cell phone. "Hi Grandad, it's Josie, do you have a minute? I need to talk."

Back at the hospital Callie and Arizona were grabbing a late lunch together. As they settled in at an out of the way table they were glad that they'd waited until most of their friends and colleagues had already eaten so they could have a chance to talk. Each woman had spent the time since sending Josie home to think and they both had a feeling that some thing, or more precisely someone, had really pushed Josie to get a reaction like that. "She's totally grounded." Callie said as she stabled at her salad. "There's no question about that. She got suspended for breaking a girl's nose." She sighed and shook her head in disbelief. That just wasn't her kid, she knew her kid, and Josie wouldn't have done something like that lightly. "But for how long and if there's anything else, well that's up to what she has to say. If she busted up that girl's nose for something stupid and trivial I'm cracking her on the behind."

"I don't think it's going to be something stupid and trivial, Calliope." Arizona said with the same tone of frustration in her voice. "And yes, I agree, grounded for sure and if by some chance our daughter lost her little mind and beat up another child for some frivolous reason, resulting in her being suspended for three days, then yes she'll get a spanking."

"But this is Josie." Callie replied as she looked up at her wife. "Sure, she'd be the first to tell someone off because she's spent her life with strong women who don't take crap from no body, but to hit someone?"

Arizona sighed as she took Callie's hand and squeezed it. "I wish the principal would have had more information on what happened but Josie pretty much clamed up as soon as Mr. Hamilton pulled her off the girl. What did the mother say while you were examining Tina?"

"Just that the school wasn't teaching proper morels if their students went around punching people." Callie answered and then speared a cherry tomato.

When they got home that night Callie and Arizona were surprised to see Josie downstairs in the living room rather then in her bedroom where she should have been. She was sitting at the coffee table with their five-year-old son Mac. Before either of them could ask Josie what she was doing Mac jumped to his feet and ran over to them holding a worksheet. "Moms look! Josie's helping me with my homework! See! I traced all the letters and drawed a line from the words to the pictures! And look!" He was pointing to what he'd done on the sheet and then pointed to the bottom where his name was. "I spelled my name! Timmy Robbins-Torre… Oh! I forgot the S!"

Both mothers couldn't help but chuckle as Mac ran back over to the coffee table and plopped down next to his nervous looking sister to put the S on Torres. With that finished he put the sheet back in his take home folder and pulled out a second sheet. "Jo-Jo, will you help me with my numbers?"

Josie looked up at her mothers for permission to stay. When Arizona gave her a nod she turned to her little brother and smiled. "Sure Mac. Lets see, it says count the objects in each box and write the number on the line." She pointed to the first box and asked. "How many apples?"

Mac used his fat blue pencil to tick each apple as he counted. "One, two, three, four. Four."

"Good, now write the number four here." Josie said. She smiled at her brother as he did so. "Ok, how many duckies?"

"Jo-Jo, how come you like rubber duckies so much?" Mac asked, the sudden question easily distracting him from his work.

Josie had to think about that for a moment. "Because they're cute and they make me smile."

Mac seemed happy with the answered so he turned back to his worksheet.

Callie and Arizona had been standing there watching, soft smiles on their faces, but then Arizona said, "When you're finished helping your brother you need to go back up stairs, Josephine. Mommy and I will be up to talk before dinner."

"Yes ma'am." Josie said with a heavy sigh.

Concern crossed her little brother's face as Mac looked up at Josie. "Are you in trouble?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah, bud, I'm in trouble."

"Did you do something bad at school?" Mac asked.

Again Josie nodded.

Mac looked over his shoulder to make sure their moms weren't still in the room, they'd both gone upstairs to change, and then he turned to his sister and whispered, "I got a time out today."

Josie raised an eyebrow. "You did?"

The little boy with brown hair he liked to keep short because other wise it was way to curly, which he said was way to girly, and big brown eyes nodded. "I put a spider in Abby's hair."

"Mac!" Josie said as she tried not to laugh. "Why'd you do that?"

"Because she's a girl, duh." Mac answered, using a tone that said Josie should have known why he'd done it.

Josie did laugh then. "You know I'm a girl right? And Sophie's a girl? And Mommy and Mama are girls?"

"Yeah." Mac replied. "But that's different."

"Why is it different?" Josie asked.

"Because you're my girls." Mac said with such a sure and loving tone it caused his sister to hug him.

After she finished helping Mac Josie went back up to her room to wait on her mothers. Talking to her grandfather earlier had helped a lot. He'd told her that part of being family meant sharing the good stuff, the bad stuff and all the in between stuff. He reminded her that her mothers were older and had more life experience than she did and that she needed to draw from that in situations like this. He'd also told her that he was proud of her for defending her family and that wanting to protect her mothers' feelings was honorable, but that they were her mothers and keeping them in the dark wasn't helping them do their jobs as such. Josie had been laying on her bed, with her legs hanging off the edge, staring up at the ceiling completely lost in her thoughts so she didn't hear the knock on her door. When she suddenly heard her name she jumped into a sitting position with a little yelp.

"I hope you being so lost in thought means you're ready to talk to us, Josephine." Callie said as she and Arizona came into their daughter's room. She went over and sat beside Josie while Arizona pulled a chair over to the bed and sat.

Josie took a deep breath and nodded. The room grew quiet while her mothers waited for her to start, and she waited for them to ask a question or something. She looked at her Mama and could see her concern and her disappointment and that hurt. She saw the same look in her Mommy's eyes and it caused her to drop her head. She was a little startled when her Mommy reached over and took her hand, lacing their fingers together in a silent gesture of reassurance. Josie looked at their entwined hands, her arm against her Mommy's, and it brought up how she felt that morning. Her Mommy's skin was a little darker then hers; her Mommy's hair, her eyes, were a lot darker then hers. Josie really never paid any attention to that fact, not until someone brought it up. Tina had brought it up.

"She asked me where my nanny was from." Josie said, suddenly breaking the silence.

Both of her mothers blinked in surprise but it was Arizona who said, "What?"

Angry tears began to well in Josie's sapphire eyes. "She saw Mommy dropping me off this morning. I'd left my book in the car and Mommy came back to give it to me. She saw us, heard us, we were speaking Spanish. Later at my locker she came up and asked me where my nanny was from because she couldn't place the accent. I told her I didn't have a nanny, I told her we still had a sitter because my little brother's only five, and she was from Cleveland. Then she said, Oh, doesn't Cleveland have a lot of Puerto Ricans, is she Puerto Rican? Does she speak any English? I was totally confused because I said, I think Megan's Irish."

It was becoming very clear to both Callie and Arizona where this was going and it wasn't sitting well with either of them. They'd run into this issue before when the kids were younger, but now Josie was old enough to understand and to really feel what prejudice was like. It was one of those life experiences that they knew was coming, but knowing it would happen didn't make it hurt unless now that it has.

"Robbie's the one who said 'I think she's talking about your Mom.' Which caused Tina to look at me funny." Josie went on. "So I asked her, are you talking about the woman I was with this morning? And she said yes, and I said, that's not my nanny that's my mother, and she said how is that your mother?" Reliving the scene was making Josie angry and she began trembling from it, but she also blushed a little as she continued. "I was getting mad so I said, she carried me for nine months and then pushed me out a very small hole, which makes her my mother, and for your information we're Cuban."

Callie couldn't hold in the snort, which got her a look from Arizona. Callie, and Carlos, thought it was unbearably cute how proud their little blue-eyed blonde was to be Cuban.

Josie looked between her mothers until Arizona told her to go on. Josie sighed. "Tina said there was no way Mommy could be my mother because 'She's so very clearly Hispanic and your so very clearly not.' Robbie," Roberta Messina had been Josie's best friend since kindergarten. She was the closest friend Josie had outside her Seattle Grace cousins. "Tried to help but saying, 'It's true, Doctor Torres is her Mom, it's just that she looks more like Dr. Robbins. Tina didn't look like she believed Robbie. She said even if my Dad was white, I looked to white to be half Hispanic, and then Robbie," She groaned and rolled her eyes at the memory. "Said, 'Well, Dr. Sloan is white, but she doesn't look like him either.' Tina looked confused so Robbie clarified, 'Doctor Robbins isn't her Dad, she's her other Mom.' Tina asked me how I had to moms and I told her. That's when she looked at me with as if I were something nasty."

Arizona was furious, hurt, and even a little mind boggled. How could there still be such intolerance? Why did her children still have to suffer with idiots and bigots? Leaning forward Arizona put her hands on her daughter's thighs as she asked, "Baby, what made you hit her?"

Josie looked at her Mama for a moment and then looked up at her Mommy who'd shifted to put her arm around Josie's shoulder.

"It's alright, mija, just tell us." Callie reassured.

"She said," Josie began but then had to look away when her voice hitched. She was looking at her lap as she finished. "She said that it was fucked up to have dykes for moms and then she, she called you a spic and that's what I punched her as hard as I could, just the way Aunt Teddy taught me." Josie looked up then. "And I'm glad I did. I love my family and I protect the things I love. No one gets to talk about you guys like that. If she says it again I'll do more then break her stupid nose."

There was a silent conversation going on between Callie and Arizona. How did they explain to their daughter that it was wrong to break this girl's nose when they both knew they would have done the same in her place? They had raised her to do just as she said, to love her family and to protect the ones she loved.

"Josephine," Arizona finally said as she looked into a matching set of sapphire eyes. "I am so proud of you for standing up for your family and for defending your Mommy, and I'm so sorry you had to experience something so ugly."

"We understand that you must have felt so hurt and angry." Callie continued. "Mama and I had really hoped and wished that you and your sister and your brother would never have to face stuff like that."

Josie dropped her head again. "I just saw red. She said those things and I just couldn't stop myself."

Callie hugged her little girl with the arm she still had around her. "Believe me, mija, I can understand that. There have been many, many, times when I've lost my temper just like that. The first time someone called me a racial name I kicked the crap out of them."

"Did you get in trouble?" Josie asked as she looked up into her Mommy's big brown eyes.

"I did." Callie said with a nod of her head. "I didn't get in trouble for defending myself. I got in trouble for the way I went about it."

"Grandad says sometimes you just have to kick an idiots as…butt." Josie said, catching herself just in time before she could get herself into any more trouble.

Arizona looked at Callie just in time to see her wife give her a look. She shrugged, not knowing what to say because she'd heard the same thing from her father growing up. Turning her gaze back to her daughter she asked, "When did you talk to Grandad?"

"When I got home." Josie admitted. "I needed to talk to someone I knew wouldn't get mad at me. He told me to tell you everything, that it would hurt your feelings more if I didn't talk to you honestly then it would to find out what some stupid, misguided twit said about you."

Arizona rolled her eyes. Her Dad didn't hold back his feelings about things like this, he never had. She'd popped a kid once, she was sticking up for a younger kid who was being bullied and she'd slugged the bully to make him back off. Her Dad had taken her out for ice cream.

"He was right mija. Mama and I always want you to talk to us openly and honestly no matter what." Callie said as she brushed at her daughter's hair. Callie looked at Arizona and they had another silent conversation before Callie went on. "We're proud of you for defending your family, mija, but you did get suspended form school, and that's what you're going to be punished for."

"You're grounded." Arizona picked up. She and Callie did this all the time with the kids. They'd been together so long, and simply knew each other so well they worked in sync. "For the three days you're suspended."

Josie was just about to protest when Callie shook her head. "You need to stop and think before you open your mouth, mija. Is what you're about to say worth possibly making your punishment worse?"

The little blonde stopped and thought it over, but in the end she had to ask. "So I'm grounded because I got suspended, so if I'd have decked her like at the park, I wouldn't be grounded?"

"We don't want you going around punching people because you get pissed off, Josephine, but in this case, because of the circumstances, maybe you wouldn't be punished." Arizona answered after another shared look with her wife.

"Fighting isn't how we want you to handle things, Josie." Callie added. "If you'd have punched this girl, broken her nose the way you did, on or off school grounds for some juvenile reason I'd have busted your behind." When she saw Josie start to duck her head Callie stopped her, holding firmly to her little girl's chin. "But you had a really good reason in this case."

Again Arizona stepped in with ease. "That doesn't mean we're giving you a free pass to deck everyone who makes stupid comments like that. You're an intelligent, strong girl, and Mommy and I would rather you used your smarts to take a stand, or use your strength to just walk away."

"Do you understand what we're trying to tell you, mija?" Callie asked, a little worried they might be telling her to do and not do the same things all at once.

"I think so." Josie replied as she looked between her mothers.

Arizona moved so she was sitting on the other side of their daughter so she could pull the girl into her arms. "If you need to talk it out more just come to us, ok?"

Josie nodded. "Ok, Mama." It was quiet for a moment. Josie took comfort in her mothers' being so close and the hugs she'd gotten. But then she needed something clarified. "I'm suspended for Thursday, Friday and Monday, does that mean I'm grounded over the weekend? Cause I'm suppose to sleep over Aunt Addie's house."

"Mommy and I will talk about it." Arizona replied.

"Why don't you come down and help me finish dinner." Callie said after kissing her daughter's temple.

Josie nodded. "Ok."

While her family had dinner together Callie looked around the table at them, her beautiful wife and their wonderful children. How could anyone still have an issue with this? Her children had a loving home with two parents who loved them, who were raising them to be good people. She remembered hearing Mrs. Baldwin say something about the school letting in those people, and now she knew who those people were. It made Callie wonder why the school would let people like the Baldwins in, she and Arizona and Mark had picked each of their kids schools because they were progressive, because they were diverse, and they thought their children would be someone harbored from crap like this. It made Callie sad to know that as hard as they tried to protect them from it, the bad in the world still seeped in and touched their babies.

Callie was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of her little girl's laugh. Josie was smiling, laughing with her siblings and her Mama, and just like that, with that simple sound, Callie's world brightened up. Suddenly it was bearable that the bad stuff seeped in from time to time, because there was just too much good for it to really be harmful.


	17. Age Fourteen: Conner: Part One

Note: These next few chapters will cover different moments within the same year and half. Let me know if the flow doesn't work. Also, this part is dedicated to my fellow Teddison fans.

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><p>Part One<p>

Once a month the Pediatric wing at Seattle Grace - Mercy West Hospital had a birthday party for all the kids born in that month. There were cupcakes and ice cream cups or some other appropriate treat, games, karaoke, and even small gifts. For as long as she could remember Josephine Robbins-Torres had always helped out with all the Peds parties. When her Mama first started letting her help out she was there mostly as a companion for the other kids, but then she started helping with decorating, or playing Santa's elf, or the Birthday Fairy. As the fourteen-year-old heelyed down the hall towards the common playroom she said hi to the kids and parents who all knew her. When someone watched the girl interact with the kids and grown ups alike, there was no doubt in anyone's mind whose daughter she was, and it secretly gave Arizona Robbins-Torres hope that her little girl would follow in her footsteps and become a pediatric surgeon. It also filled the older blonde with a lot of pride, because Josie was a pretty awesome kid, and it made her and Callie feel good to know they were doing right by her.

As Josie approached the common room she heard someone inside muttering his way through some really bad Spanish. She couldn't help but giggle at his repeated attempts to say a word that he was probably unknowingly saying wrong. Stepping into the room she saw a boy who looked to be about her age sitting at one of the round tables. "You said that word wrong."

The boy looked up from the book and notebook he'd been working in. "What? What word?"

Josie repeated the word only she said it the right way. "If you say it the way you said it, it means something totally different."

"How do you know I wasn't trying to say it that way?" The boy asked.

"I'm pretty sure dirty words aren't part of high school Spanish." Josie said with a smirk.

The boy raised an eyebrow at the smirk. "Then how do you know that was a dirty word?"

"I didn't learn Spanish in school." Josie answered. "I learned it at home. My Mom's Hispanic so I grew up bilingual like she did." Looking over his shoulder at his book and notebook she said. "The ending on number four is wrong, so is the tense on number eleven. Want some help?"

The boy looked at her for a moment and then finally nodded. "Sure, thanks. If I don't get this done before evening rounds my Mom's totally gonna tell Dr. Robbins I can't play videos games."

Josie just smiled as she took a seat beside him. "My name's Josie by the way."

"Conner." Conner said with a grateful smile.

When Arizona walked into the common room with the party decorations she found Josie sitting by a boy with chestnut brown hair and rather striking green eyes. Of course she knew exactly who Conner Davis was because he was one of her patients. She felt that familiar pang of concern over her children befriending her patients; especially ones she knew could be terminal, but she pushed it aside because she had high hopes for Conner. She'd been treating his condition since his diagnosis and so far they'd had good results. Walking over to the table next to where the teens were working she set the box down and smiled. "Finally getting that Spanish homework done I see."

Conner looked up and smiled at his doctor. "Hi Doctor Robbins. Yeah, Josie here walked in on me while I was apparently swearing, then she helped herself to checking my work, and then offered to help."

Josie smiled and gave a little shrug when her Mama gave her a 'are you being rude' look. "It's my other native language and I couldn't just let you keep butchering it like that." She told Conner. "Spanish is a romance language and you were treating it like it was Klingon or something."

"You know what a Klingon is?" Conner asked.

"Yeah, duh, who doesn't?" Josie replied.

Arizona couldn't help but smile as she watched the interaction. "Josie, I brought the party stuff. Everyone should be coming in around four."

"Ok Mama." Josie replied as she looked up at her mother. "I'll get it done."

"I know you will." Arizona beamed as she put her hand on her daughter's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

Conner blinked. "Doctor Robbins is your mom? I thought you said your mom was Hispanic."

"I did say that and she is." Josie replied as she stood so she could check out what was in the box. "And Doctor Robbins isn't my Mom she's my Mama."

Normally Arizona didn't share her personal life with her patients and their families, not that she hid it either, she was very open about being married to a woman, she was proud of Callie and what they had created together. It was just that she wanted, and needed, to keep a certain amount of distance between her personal and professional life. Having her kids around made that a little harder, but she didn't want to discourage them from volunteering. Plus, she'd met Conner's Uncle and his partner, so she felt ok saying, "My wife and I have three children, Conner, Josie is our middle one."

"And the cutest one." Josie teased as she pulled streamers and hats out of the box.

Conner nodded in understanding and then smiled softly at Doctor Robbins before chuckling at Josie. "Would your siblings agree to that?"

Josie titled her head up to think and then shook her head. "Probably not. We're all pretty vein, especially my sister. She spends more time in front of the mirror then Snow White's stepmother."

"Josie!" Arizona scolded lightly.

"What?" Josie asked as she looked up at her Mama. "She does!"

Conner just laughed. "My older brother was like that. He was always worried about his hair." He took a quick glance at his homework and noticed with a touch of surprise that they'd finished. Looking up again he said, "Since you helped me out with Spanish why don't I give you a hand with decorating?"

"Sure." Josie replied as she tossed him some rolls of streamers. "If you're really nice to me I'll even let you help me clean up after."

The room was all set up by the time the kids from the floor started coming in. Josie was smiling and laughing as she handed out party hats and noisemakers. She'd brought in her own iPod and dock, because her dock changed colors and was just way cooler then what the hospital could offer, and her iPod had the playlist she'd put together for the kids.

"Josie, where's you're crown?" Steven, an eight year old who'd just come out of isolation following his bone marrow transplant, asked. "You're birthday was this month too."

Everyone got a hat, but kids with birthdays that month got crowns or tiaras. Josie had just put a crown on Steven's little bald head when he'd asked her his question, and before she could reply her Mama added, "He's right, Josie. You had a birthday this month too."

Josie would have protested but the beaming smile on Steven's face as her Mama put the tiara on her head stopped her. She returned the little boy's smile as she asked, "Better?"

Steven nodded. "Much!"

"Josie!" Toshi, her Mama's emergency appendectomy patient from two days ago, called out. "Come play Disney Sing-It with us!"

"What do you say Stevie?" Josie asked the little boy next to her. "Wanna sing the Aladdin parts?"

"Sure!" Steven agreed.

Arizona watched as her daughter went off with Steven to play with the other kids.

"Sophie and Callie are on their way with the baked goods." Teddy said as she came up behind her best friend. "Ya know, if I hadn't watched Callie grow that kid, and know that Addison delivered her, I'd swear someone cloned you."

"She really is good with the other kids." Arizona said proudly. "She's going to be a great peds surgeon."

Teddy laughed. "I thought you guys weren't going to put any pressure on your kids about following in your footsteps? Besides, you know she's totally going cardio."

"We're not." Arizona said as she looked up at the slightly taller blonde. "I'm not!" She huffed softly. "Josie just seems to be leaning that way, and she's so not doing cardio."

Both women laughed and then in unison said, "As long as she doesn't do plastics."

Her mother and aunt weren't the only ones watching Josie. Conner was too.

A week and half later Conner was recovering from his surgery. Laying in his bed he looked up from his graphic novel when he heard heely sneakers coming towards his open door. He watched and sure enough someone zipped passed, but that someone was to short to be Doctor Robbins. "Josie?"

Josie stopped at the sound of her name and walked back to the open door. She smiled at Conner as she poked her head in. "Hey. How are you feeling? I heard your surgery went well."

"A little sore but alright." Conner replied. "Are you just hanging out again? I thought Doctor Robbins went home for the night."

"She did." Josie said as she came further into the room. "She and my Mom left an hour ago. I was just on my way through to obstetrics."

"Obstetrics?" Conner asked with a little bit of discomfort in his voice. It was just one of those words guys were uncomfortable saying, even at fifteen.

Josie couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face. "Yes, the baby department. My godmother's the head of obstetrics and neonatal surgery. I'm staying with her tonight to help babysit while she and her partner go out for their anniversary."

Conner relaxed a little and then chuckled. "So your one mom is the head of pediatric surgery, the other is head of orthopedic surgery, and your godmother is the head of baby surgery." He smiled at the way she was nodding her head and smiling brightly. "Anyone else around here that you're related too?"

There was a bright sparkle in Josie's sapphire eyes as she laughed. "Um, pretty much the enter senior surgical staff."

"You're joking?" Conner replied with wide eyes.

Josie laughed again as she shook her head. She took a moment to think about how to best describe her family and her mind took her to nature program she'd watched with Ethan. "Surgeons are like wolves, they live in packs, work together in packs, but won't let that stop them from fighting each other over the best surgeries, especially if their young, interns and residents mostly because they're pretty much all betas while attending and heads of departments are alphas." Josie couldn't help but giggle at her own explanation of how things worked around here. "My Moms and my Dad, he's head of plastic surgery, are the only ones I'm actually related too. Every one else is like an aunt or uncle or a godparent."

"No wonder you're totally free-range around here." Conner commented with a shake of his head.

"Free-range?" Josie laughed again. Had she ever giggled so much in such a short span of time with someone other then family? "What am I some kind of hospital chicken?"

Conner laughed this time. "As far as I know chickens don't skate around on heely sneakers."

Josie just stuck her tongue out at him, which caused them both to laugh. After a few moments passed she walked even closer to his bed and picked up the graphic novel he'd been reading. "Watchmen? Are you just reading this?"

Conner nodded. "I saw the movie and thought I'd go ahead and read the source."

"Dude, this is so much better then the movie." Josie said as she flipped through the book. "I mean the movie was ok for a comic book movie, if you read comics you have to take those things with a grain of salt, but the GNs are always better. Have you read V for Vendetta yet?"

"No." Conner replied. "Haven't seen the movie either."

"They have it in the library here." Josie said as she gave him his book back. "Read it, then watch the movie."

It was the sound of Josie's laugh that lead Addison to the room. A faint smile appeared on her lips as watched her goddaughter talking so animatedly to the young boy in the bed. She watched for another moment before clearing her throat. "Weren't you suppose to come back to me after checking with the OR nurse on how much longer your Aunt Teddy would be?"

Josie's head whipped around so quickly she slapped herself in the cheek with her own ponytail. "Oh! Aunt Addie! I forgot! I got side tracked."

"I can see that." Addison said as she crossed her arms over her chest and tried her best to look cross. It wasn't easy because Josie looked so cute and the girl wasn't even trying.

"This is Conner, he's one of Mama's patients." Josie explained. "Conner, this is my godmother, Doctor Addison Montgomery."

Conner nodded as he said hello. "It's my fault Doctor Montgomery. I saw Josie skate by and called her in to say hi."

Addison gave the boy a smile. "Nice to meet you Conner, and it's alright, I figured she'd gotten distracted over here." Then she looked at her niece. "Aunt Teddy is scrubbing out now so it's time to go."

"Ok." Josie said before turning to smile at Conner. "Seriously, read V, always ready the GN before watching the movie." Picking up a pen from the bed table Josie wrote down her email. "If you can't get it from the library here I have an extra copy, just facebook me."

There was a grin on Addison's face as she and Josie walked down to the lobby to meet Teddy. When the tall blonde heart surgeon saw her lover coming towards her with that grin she couldn't help but laugh. That was Addison's smug, teasing grin. "What's with the smirk?"

"What smirk?" Addison asked.

Teddy looked at Josie. "Why is she smirking like that?"

Josie looked up at her godmother, titled her head to the side, and then frowned. "Are you laughing at me?"

"Why would she be laughing at you?" Teddy asked after giving Addison a kiss hello, because she knew that if she didn't Addison would pout.

"Josie was talking to a boy." Addison teased as they headed out to her car.

"I was not!" Josie protested. "I was talking to one of Mama's patients!"

Teddy thought that maybe Josie was protesting her godmother's teasing a little to strongly, which of course made her join in the teasing. "Is this patient a boy?"

"Well," Josie pouted. "Yeah. So? We were talking about comic books."

"Is this patient, who's a boy, cute?" Teddy asked as they got in the car and buckled up.

"Yeah." Josie answered, a little to quickly. "So?" In all honesty she'd thought he was cute the first time she saw him. She hadn't really thought about it too much though because she was finally to the point where she was noticing things about people she thought made them cute. So she noticed he was cute, so what, no big deal. Right?

"Just asking." Teddy said with a smirk now on her own lips.

Josie huffed softly. "I'm so telling my Moms you two are picking on me."

"Are you going to tell them you think Conner is cute?" Addison asked; her voice laced with a giggle.

Josie muttered something in Spanish that made both Addison and Teddy laugh.

The house Addison bought when she'd finally had the family she'd longed so long for was actually pretty close to the house Callie and Arizona had built. The distance was walkable, though it would be a rather long yet lovely walk, and a quick fifteen-minute drive. This closeness and easy access is why none of the mothers had an issue with fourteen-year-old Josie and fifteen year old Ethan watching Ethan's younger siblings, eleven-year-old Emily, and six month old twins Evan and Erin. Addison had grown up with nannies, and despite the fact that she'd loved them all dearly; she hadn't wanted that kind of life for her kids. They made use of a regular babysitter, daycare, school, and of course lots of aunts, uncles, and older cousins. Once inside the house, after hanging her coat in the closet and carrying her bag to the den Addison went up to the nursery to relieve the babysitter. Teddy had barley gotten her coat off when Emily came sprinting out of the family room and down the hall towards her.

"Mama Teddy do you love me?" Emily asked as she wrapped her arms around the blonde. Emily Rhea Montgomery was a very pretty little girl with light brown hair, a very light natural tan to her skin, and dark hazel eyes whose shape clearly said there was at least one grandparent of Asian, or perhaps Native Alaskan descent. The slightly larger then normal k-nine teeth had them leaning towards the Native Alaskan theory.

Teddy smirked. She knew where this was going. Addison did the same thing just before asking for a favor or something. "Of course I do, Em." She leaned down and placed a kiss on the crown of the girl's head. Maybe it had been their life long exposure to Callie and Arizona, or maybe because they'd pretty much grown up with Teddy in their lives, or perhaps it was just their wanting to see their Mom happy, but Ethan and Emily had taken to Teddy's new place in their lives, and their Mom's almost immediately. There had been a little more issue with Ethan than Emily but that was more because he was just starting the hell known as adolescence at the time. "What do you need?"

Emily pretended to look hurt, which caused Josie to giggle from where she was standing. Looking up with her best puppy dog look Emily said, "My class is going on a field trip and we need parents or we can't go."

"When is it?" Teddy asked.

"In two weeks." Emily answered. "On a Friday."

"I think I can work that out." Teddy said with a bright smile. "Go get me the letter from your teacher and I'll look it over."

"Ok!" Emily said and then took off upstairs to get the information sheet out of her backpack.

The shape of his eyes, the shape of his mouth, and the slightly oversized k-nines made it pretty clear that Ethan shared a biological parent with Emily. But there were some real differences in their looks as well. Ethan's hair was black and his eyes, though still hazel, were a touch more brown than green. He was tall, thin, but in no way scrawny. When Josie walked into the family room Ethan was sitting in his gaming chair with his head mic on playing whatever game he was into this month. At his side was Teddy's German shepherd, Ranger.

"Hey." Josie greeted as she walked over and flopped onto the couch behind him.

"Hey." Ethan replied with a soft smile.

"Ethan," Teddy said as Ranger came over to greet her. "Did you finish your report for social studies?"

Ethan nodded. "Yeah, I left a copy in the den for you to read."

Teddy smiled with an approving nod. "Good. Josie, call your mothers and check in. I'm going to head upstairs to get ready."

Some people thought that Addison and Teddy had moved super fast through their relationship. To most people it looked as if they suddenly started dating out of the blue and within two years moved in together, got pregnant and had the twins. But if they'd been watching, like Callie, like Arizona, like Owen, and Derek, then they knew that Addison and Teddy had been together before Addison and Teddy even realized they were together.

"Ok," Addison said as she gripping Teddy's arm to balance herself while she put on her heels. Her gaze was fixed on the three kids sitting on their leather couch. "There's money in the kitchen for take out. The twins have been bathed, feed and changed so they should sleep while we're gone, but that doesn't mean you forget they're up there."

"They won't forget." Teddy said softly.

Josie nodded in agreement. "We have the baby monitor and we'll check on them in real time too."

"Yeah." Ethan said. "Don't worry Mom. We'll be fine. You and Mama Teddy just have a good time. We got this."

"If you need us we'll have our cell phones." Addison said as she came over and kissed each of them on top of the head. "And remember that Aunt Callie and Aunt Arizona are just a phone call away and can be here within minutes."

After a bit more fussing Addison and Teddy finally left. Ethan looked at the girls and asked, "Chinese or pizza?"

"Thai." The girls answered at the same time and then giggled.

With their endless cartons of take out spread over the coffee table and bottles of soda close at hand, Ethan began flicking through movies to watch. "Oh, V for Vendetta is on. I was just telling Conner about that one. Lets watch that."

"Who's Conner?" Ethan asked, eyeing his cousin carefully.

"I don't want to watch that." Emily whined.

"One of my Mama's patients." Josie answered. "Ok, Em, you pick."

After checking on the twins and reading a story to Emily, Josie came back downstairs to play videos games with Ethan. "So this patient of Aunt Arizona's, is he long term?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah, but she's very optimistic. He just had surgery and it went really well."

"Doesn't she worry about you doing that?" Ethan asked as he flicked his eyes from the massive tv screen to his cousin.

"Yeah." Josie nodded again. "People die, people we're friends with, people we care about. If we don't take the chance to know someone just because we think they're going to die, we could miss out on something special. It hurt a lot when Adele died, but I wouldn't give up having known her."

Ethan nodded. "Yeah, guess your right." Ethan and Josie had always been close. He just wanted to look out for her. "Hey! You shot me!"

Josie giggled. "Sorry! I thought you were a zombie!"

To Be Continued


	18. Age Fourteen: Conner: Part Two

Part Two

Most of the time Josie Robbins-Torres was beyond proud of what her parents did. Actually she was always proud, but sometimes having parents who were surgeons sucked. Today was supposed to be her day to spend alone with her Dad, but he'd gotten paged into a trauma surgery. So rather then having lunch with her Dad, she was sitting in the hospital cafeteria with a slowly melting milkshake playing Sushi Go-Round and Angry Birds on her phone while she waited for him to finish.

"I thought that was you." Conner said as he came over to the table Josie was sitting at.

Josie looked up and smiled. "Hi. Yeah, it's me. Hey, you're in street clothes. I've never seen you in another but sweats and a t-shirt or a hospital gown."

Conner laughed as he sat across from her. "Yeah. I'm just here for a follow up with Doctor Robbins. You don't look as happy to be here as you normally do."

"I'm not supposed to be here today." Josie said with a soft huff. "I'm supposed to be hanging with my Dad, but he got called in so now I'm waiting for him, and hoping there's enough time left in the day to actually do something when he's finished."

"Guess having parents with jobs likes yours have can kinda suck." Conner said.

Josie nodded. "Sometimes."

Conner nodded. A few seconds of silence passed between them before he spoke again. "I read that graphic novel you told me about, it was really good."

"Did you see the movie?" Josie asked. She was really rather pleased that Conner had taken her advise like that.

The teen with the chestnut brown hair and pretty green eyes shook his head. "I haven't had the chance."

"I think, with V, this is the one time the movie was kind of better." Josie said. "The GN can be a little long winded at times."

The two teens talked about random stuff for a good twenty minutes while they waited on their respective parents. Josie was just giving Conner her cell phone number when Mark walked in. He didn't like that his little girl was sitting there talking to a boy. He was still wheeling from the fact that Sophie was dating. Sophie was Seventeen, a senior in high school, and had a steady boyfriend. Mark simply wasn't ready to deal with both of his little girls and the overly hormonal teenage boys who wanted nothing more then to get into their pants.

"Hey kiddo." Mark said as he walked over to the table. "Who's your friend?"

"Dad, this is Conner." Josie said, her whole face lighting up at the sight of her Dad. "He's one of Mama's patients. Conner this is my Dad, Doctor Mark Sloan."

Conner stood so he could shake the man's hand. "Nice to meet you, Sir."

Mark wasn't impressed. He shook the boy's hand and nodded but nothing else. Then he looked at Josie. "You ready to go?"

"Yeap." Josie said as she popped out of her seat. "I'll see ya around Conner. Call me when you've seen the movie."

"Ok, I will." Conner said. He watched as Josie walked off with her dad and then went to see if his mom was finished with her support group meeting.

In the car Mark tried to be as causal as possible, but he failed dreadfully. "So, the boy."

"What boy?" Josie asked as she turned her head to look at her Dad. "Oh, you mean Conner? What about him?"

"How long have you known him?" Mark asked, while wondering why Callie and Arizona never told him about the boy. Maybe they were worried he'd embarrass Josie the way he had Sophie. He hadn't meant to embarrass his eldest daughter, he just wanted the punk ass kid she was dating to know that if he touched his little girl inappropriately or hurt her in any way, that he'd kick the kid's ass. Then again Callie had explained in detail how she broke bones for a living, and Arizona had mentioned her connection to the Marine Corps. So he wasn't the only one putting the fear of God in the boy.

Josie shrugged. "Couple of weeks. I met him when he came in for surgery and I've seen him around the hospital a couple of times."

Mark nodded a bit before asking, "Do you like him?"

"What?" Josie couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "How do you mean like?"

"I mean do you like him?" Mark asked.

The fourteen-year-old blonde had to think and then she shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really know him. He's cute though."

"You think so?" Mark asked as he turned to look at his daughter since they were at a red light.

Josie nodded. "Yeah, I think so, doesn't mean anything so quit freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out." Mark protested as the light changed.

"Daddy." Josie said softly and slowly as if her father were a small child. "You're freaking out. I think a cute boy is cute, that's perfectly normal, so just take a deep breath and relax. It's not like I'm dating him or anything, and it's not like I make out with him in garage so no one can see."

"You're sister is making out with that boy in the garage?" Mark asked as he jerked his head to the side to look at Josie after parking the car.

Josie just shrugged. She hadn't meant to throw her sister under the bus, but at least it got their Dad off her back. "Can we eat before the movie? I'm starved."

Callie walked into the house through the open sliding door off the deck. She smiled brightly at her wife who was sitting on the couch with what she assumed was a cup of tea and the latest Pediatric Journal of Medicine. "Hey beautiful."

Arizona looked up and there was an instant bright smile on her face. "Calliope."

They had just seen each other a few hours before, and they had been together for what seemed like forever, but the sound of Arizona saying her name like that, like she was just so happy to see her, still melted Callie's heart. Walking over to the couch after dropping her things by the door, Callie leaned down and placed a loving kiss on her wife's lips. "Sorry I'm late." She said when the kiss ended. "My surgery ran long."

"It's alright." Arizona replied as Callie sat beside her and pulled her close. "How did it go?"

"There were complications. I had to change tactics a bit but I think I pulled it off." Callie answered. Then she asked, "Who is Josie talking to? She's out in the backyard walking around, giggling, and flaying her arm about like she's batting at something."

Arizona chuckled. Callie either didn't realize or was ignoring the fact that she was often just as animated when she was on the phone. "Conner. They got tired of texting each other."

"I didn't even get a hi Mommy." Callie said with a pout. "How long as she been talking to him?"

"About an hour." Arizona replied after looking at the clock on the cable box. "I was going to tell her enough is enough after I finished my article."

Callie was quiet for a few moments. Mark had brought up seeing Josie with Conner a few weeks ago at the hospital, and Addison and Teddy both had mentioned how Josie reacted when they'd teased her. Josie did spend an awful lot of time talking to this kid maybe she should be worried? "Do you think we should talk to her?"

"About what?" Arizona asked. "They're just friends Calliope."

"She's at an age now where just friends could easily become something more." Callie replied. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of having this kind of talk with their baby girl either, but it was something they needed to do. They'd talked a little over the years, but nothing to in-depth. They didn't need to go into extreme detail yet, but they needed to start laying the groundwork for much bigger talks down the line.

When Josie walked into the house she couldn't help but smile at her mothers cuddling on the couch. "Hi Mommy!" She greeted Callie as she walked over to give her Mommy a hug. "When did you get home?"

Callie chuckled. "I walked right past you and said hi fifteen minutes ago, mija."

"Oh." Josie said with a slightly furled brow. "I was talking to Conner and didn't notice. I'm sorry."

"It's ok." Callie said as she pulled her daughter down onto the couch so she was sitting between her and Arizona. "What were you two talking about? Mama said you've been at it all evening."

Josie shrugged as she snuggled between her moms. "Just stuff. He has lousy taste in baseball. He's a Cleveland Indians fan. Who in their right minds is Cleveland Indians fan?"

"Must be a side effect of Mama zapping him with so much radiation." Callie teased.

Arizona huffed. "I'm not zapping his brain." She smiled at her daughter as she tucked some of Josie's hair behind her ear. "You really like Conner, don't you baby girl?"

"Yeah." Josie said and then frowned. She was having déjà vu. Hadn't she had this conversation with her Dad? "Wait, what do you mean by like?"

"I mean," Arizona said gently but firmly. "You really seem to like him. You like spending time with him, talking to him, you think he's cute."

Josie thought about that for a moment and then rolled her eyes and sighed. "Moms, we're just friends."

"We know that, mija." Callie said as she patted Josie's knee. Whenever she talked to her kids like this Callie always had some kind of physical contact with them. It put everyone at ease, and with Josie especially it was soothing. "It's just that you're at an age now where things between you and some of your friends could change. Right now you like Conner, but you could find out that you really like Conner, that you like, like him."

"I'm not allowed to date." Josie reminded her mothers of their own rule.

"That's right." Arizona said with a nod of her head that caused her curls to bounce. "No solo dating until you're sixteen, but we're open to talking about group dates."

"And with that as a possibility, and with all kinds of new things to experience, new feelings to have, Mama and I just want to talk." Callie added. "Maybe you won't like like Conner but you will someone."

Josie mumbled something that neither of her mothers could understand.

"Que mija?" Callie asked. "We didn't hear what you said."

Josie blew out a slow breath and repeated; "I think I do like him like him."

Callie and Arizona shared a knowing look before Arizona asked, "What makes you think you like him like him?"

Again Josie shrugged as she looked down at her lap. "I get butterflies."

Another shared look passed between them before Callie says, "Do you think about him a lot when he's not around?"

Josie nodded, her cheeks coloring slightly with a soft blush.

Callie put her arm around her little girl and kissed her temple. "It's ok to like him, Josie. What you're feeling is normal, mija."

"It's not the same as it was with Tuck." Josie said softly.

"It wouldn't be baby." Arizona said and then paused to sort out her thoughts. "Tuck was like a bike with training wheels, or tight rope walking with a harness and cables, and a net. He was a safe way to explore those kinds of feelings as they slowly began to surface. Now that you're a little older, and those feelings are really starting to come out, you're a little more ready to deal with those feelings with other people. You're ready to take the training wheels off."

Josie looked up at her Mama with an odd look. A look that pretty much matched the 'really?' look Callie was giving her.

"What?" Arizona asked.

"When Mommy took the training wheels off my bike she let go too soon and I crashed into a berry bush and got a rash." Josie said with her nose scrunched up at the memory.

Arizona chuckled while Callie rolled her eyes. Once her wife was finished with her giggles Callie asked their daughter, "Mija, what do you think the most important thing is when it comes to relationships?"

"That's easy." Josie answered as her sapphire blue eyes looked from her Mama's matching eyes to her Mommy's warm brown ones. "Love and respect."

Callie nodded. "Love is a little tricky. It comes in varieties and different degrees. But respect, mija, there must always be respect. I want you to always remember that, ok?"

Josie nodded. "Ok."

"Respect is going to be very important from here on out, Josie." Arizona said as Josie entangled their fingers together. "Because these new feelings and emotions can lead to more physical expressions."

"You mean like kissing and stuff." Josie said with a nod.

"Yeah," Arizona replied with a small knot in her stomach at the 'and stuff part'. "Like kissing and stuff. Have you kissed anyone? Or, ya, know, stuff."

Josie shook her head. This time her blush crept up her neck, over her cheeks and all the way to her ears. "No, not yet."

Arizona reached up and brushed at her little girl's cheeks. "That's just fine, Josie. Don't rush into anything your not ready for, and don't let anyone pressure you into doing more or going further then you're comfortable with."

"And please, please, mija, come to me and Mama before you start having sex." Callie added in.

Sapphire blue eyes went huge as Josie squealed, "Mommy!"

Callie was finding it hard not to laugh at the look of utter mortification on her daughter's face, but she needed to keep this serious. "I just want you to promise that when you start thinking about sex that you will come to me and Mama. There's still so much we need and want to talk to you about, when the time is right."

Josie groaned and buried her face in her Mama's shoulder and groaned. "Make her stop saying that word!"

Arizona chuckled. "Josie, baby, Mommy and I are serious. You know you can come and talk to us about anything and everything. No matter what you can come to us. Ok?"

Josie nodded.

"Promise you'll come to us when you start thinking about…"

"Don't say it!" Josie warned. "I promise I will just don't say it."

This time Callie chuckled. "Ok mija I won't say it."

The family room of the Robbins-Torres house was peaceful since six-year-old Mac was at his swimming lesson with both of their mothers. Which left Josie and Sophie the whole house to themselves. Sophie was taking this rare moment to work on her college entrance essay while Josie texted Conner between bites of lucky charms and glances at the television. The peacefulness of the room was suddenly disturbed when Josie huffed loudly and tossed her phone into the chair across from the couch.

"What's wrong Jo-Jo?" Sophie asked her little sister as she looked up from her laptop.

"It really sucks that Conner and I don't go to the same school." Josie complained. "We don't have any shared friends. Last week we tried hanging out at the mall with his friends, that was awkward. And with exception of Robbie, all the kids I hang out with are snobs; they don't want to hang out with pubic school kids. Ethan's busy, Mike is visiting his Mom, and anyway it would be weird taking them out with Conner and me. It's bad enough they thump their chests over me when it's just the two of them. I asked Robbie, but she's grounded."

Sophie listened to her sister ramble with a smile on her face. It had been really cute watching Josie take her first baby steps into dating, and it had given them a chance to really bond as sisters on a different level then ever before. When Josie stopped to take a breath Sophie jumped in. "Why don't you and Conner come out with me and Gabe tonight?"

That stopped Josie's rant cold. She looked up at her big sister, her beautiful big sister whose raven hair was long and wavy, her skin the shade of their Mommy's, which made her blue eyes that, much brighter, and curves that made Josie jealous sometimes. "Really?"

"Yeah, really." Sophie said brightly. "We're going to see Rocky Horror. It'll be fun."

Josie's smile was huge and bright as she squealed. She jumped out of her seat and practically leapt at her sister to hug her. "I'll ask Conner!"

"Better ask Mommy and Mama before you set anything in stone." Sophie said.

Josie's smile faltered a little at the thought of asking her mothers. "Do you think they'll let me see Rocky Horror?"

"Sure." Sophie reassured her sister. "I was fifteen when I saw it the first time. Plus, we've seen worse at Pride."

"That's true." Josie said as she snatched up her phone and sent a text to Conner about the idea. "Once you've seen the leather and bear floats, a lot of stuff becomes kinda tame."

Conner and Gabe were both cool with the idea so all Josie needed was permission from her mothers. She was a bouncing ball of energy while she waited for them to get home. As soon as they walked in the door she sprung like an overly coiled spring. "Sophie said that Conner and I could go to Rocky Horror with her and Gabe tonight so I texted Conner and he's cool and his parents are cool so the only ones we're not sure are cool with the idea are you two so can I please go with Sophie to see Rocky Horry tonight please, pretty please with sprinkles?"

Both Arizona and Callie stood by the kitchen door with slightly parted mouths and wide eyes. They'd been taken totally off guard by their middle child's sudden burst of words and waves of nervous energy. "Hola mija, and how was your morning? Our morning was very nice thank you for asking."

Josie looked confused and a little put off at the teasing reprimand. So just to be a smartass she told her mother all about her morning and then repeated the entire rant in rapid fire Spanish.

"Ok, now my head is really swimming." Arizona teased as she put the bag of groceries she carried in on the kitchen island.

Callie laughed hard at that before looking at Arizona who gave a small nod. "Si, mija, you may go with your sister to the movie."

"Yay!" Josie squealed. She rushed over and hugged each of her moms, early knocking Arizona off her feet and causing Callie to drop the bag she had in her hand. "You're both awesome!"

"Yes." Arizona agreed. "Yes, we are."

"Sophie!" Callie called out.

Sophie came into the kitchen a few moments later. "Yes Mommy?"

"Dress your fourteen…"

"And a half." Josie cut in.

Callie looked at her middle child. "What are you six?" Then she looked back at her eldest. "Make sure your fourteen and half year old sister is dressed appropriately for this thing."

Sophie smiled. "I will Mommy. No worries."

"And have her home by eleven." Arizona added.

"Aww Mama." Josie said but stopped any further whining when she got the look from her Mama that said if she didn't she wouldn't get to do anything.

Sophie chuckled. "Yes ma'am."

After the girls ran off to find Josie something to wear Arizona looked up at Callie who was watching Mac play with the dogs in the back yard. "Are you sure she's ok to see this movie?"

"Sure." Callie said as she turned to look at her wife. "It's tame compared to some of the tv commercials she's seen during the super bowl. The crowd at a sing a long might be a little rowdy but I trust Soph." At the concerned look on Arizona's face Callie asked, "How old where you when you first saw it?"

"Nineteen." Arizona admitted sheepishly. "We went when I was in college. How old were you?"

"Aria and I snuck out to see it when I was twelve." Callie said with a laugh. "You want to talk rowdy? See a sing a long in Miami. Every Queen in the city comes out that night. Ay dios mio that was some night!"

Arizona raised an eyebrow. "You snuck out to see it?"

"Well yeah." Callie said with a snort. "Have you met my mother? She would have never let us see that movie." Callie smiled, as her warm brown eyes grew bright. "Oh! I know what we're doing for the next girl's night."

After picking up Conner, Sophie's boyfriend Gabe picked up the girls. Josie had never experienced anything like a Rocky Horror sing a long before, and it was a little overwhelming at first, but once she relaxed and really started to get into it she had an amazing time. When the girls got home that night they Josie was still pretty wired but teetering on the edge of a major crash. Which is why it was surprising to Arizona to hear giggling coming from Sophie's room near two hours after she and Callie had said goodnight to their girls. "The girls are still up."

"Yeah, I can hear them." Callie said as she pulled Arizona closer and held her a little more tightly. Arizona had always been more of stickler about things like bedtimes than Callie had been. "Leave them alone, Arizona. Neither of them has to be up early. Let them spend some time together."

"I wasn't going to bother them." Arizona said with a pout. "I was actually thinking about how much I'm going to miss listening to them giggle like that when Sophie leaves for college in the fall."

Callie held her a little tighter. "I know, it's so hard to believe how fast it's all gone by."

Arizona sighed as she snuggled into her wife's embrace. "Our girls grew up so fast and Mac's right behind them."

* * *

><p>I was born and raised in Cleveland therefor I can pick on any and all Cleveland teams LOL So, no offense to any Tribe Fans who may be reading this lol<p> 


	19. Age Fourteen: Conner: Part Three

Part Three

Sitting in the hospital cafeteria Josie Robbins-Torres was waiting for her sorta boyfriend who was having some tests run in preparation for his appointment with her Mama, who was his surgeon. She really liked Conner Davis, and they spent a lot of time together, but they weren't really allowed to date, or be alone, which is why he was only her sorta boyfriend. He hadn't even kissed her yet, which wasn't totally his fault. They were hardly ever alone, and resently she'd been gone for three weeks on a family vacation. Which is why Josie was a little antsy in waiting for him.

"Hey." Conner said walked towards the table.

Josie couldn't keep the smile off her face as she sprang to her feet to hug him. "Hey, how'd your scans and stuff go?"

"Easy peasy." He replied. "We'll get the results this afternoon. How was Cuba? You're super tan, you look amazing."

Pure excitement lit up Josie's eyes as she blushed a little at his comment. "It was freaking amazing! The island is so beautiful, and so unspoiled. We spent a lot of time on the water of course, but there was a ton of other stuff to do. Oh and you should see all the classic cars, it was freaking awesome! And oh my god the food!"

Upstairs Doctor Arizona Robbins-Torres was looking over CT scans, blood work test results, MRI scans, and x-rays. The more she looked at the scans the more her heart sank in her chest. At first everything had looked fine, and she'd been feeling good, hopeful, but then the PET scan came up and everything came crashing down. "Page Altman." She told her intern who was standing beside her. "We're going to need a thoracic surgeon."

"The cancer metastasized." Alex Karev said as he looked over the scans as well.

Arizona nodded. "In to the lung. Damnit. Damnit!"

"Mama?" Josie asked from the open doorway.

The blonde Peds surgeon spun on her heel, her sapphire eyes wide. "Josie!"

Josie looked around the room at the scans on computer screens and x-rays on light boxes. Then she looked at her Mama. Josie had been passing the room when she heard her Mama's voice and the tone made her stop.

"Josie, you can't be in here." Arizona said as she crossed the room. She gently pushed her daughter away from the doorway and closed the door behind her. "I thought you were in the cafeteria with Conner?"

"His Mom came to get him. His appointment with you is in thirty minutes." Josie said as she looked up into her Mama's eyes. That's all she needed to do and she knew. "Those were Conner's scans weren't they?"

"Josie." Arizona said softly, trying to get her little girl to stop.

"The cancer's back isn't it?" Josie asked. Her voice was low and soft. Her voice always dropped like that when she was trying to hide her emotions. "There was something weird on the lung scans, tumors on CT and PET scans light up, and there was something in the upper part of the lung."

"Josie." Arizona said as she put her hands on her daughter's shoulders, her voice a little firmer, a little sharper. "I can't…"

"His cancer came back." Josie repeated while tears welled in her eyes. "It came back and now it's in his lung."

"Josephine, look at me." Arizona said more firmly then she wanted but she needed to get her daughter's attention. "I can't discuses this. Those are someone's private scans it's a current case, and I can't, I won't, discuss it with you. Do you understand?"

Josie nodded without looking away from her Mama's eyes.

Arizona softened. "Why don't you head downstairs and find Mommy. I bet she could use some help smashing plaster."

Josie knew not to push it. She knew that her Mama couldn't tell her anything. She also knew that her Mama's need to get her away from there was all the affirmation she needed. Josie nodded. "Ok."

"Ok." Arizona said as she moved her hands from Josie's shoulders to her cheeks. "Ok." As she watched her little girl walk towards the elevator Arizona sent Callie a text about what happened. Then she went back into the room with Karev to wait for Teddy. She would be damned if she lost Conner Davis now. Not only would she fight for him because he was only a kid and deserved a long happy life, but if anything happened to him it would break her baby's heart.

When Josie didn't show up after ten minutes waiting, Callie went looking for her. As she walked down the hospital hallways she finally started to understand the push and pull of Arizona's emotions when it came to the kids getting to know her patients. Callie had always known that in the end Josie would end up getting hurt over this Conner kid, first teenage love always ended up in heartache, but she hadn't thought it could possibility end this way. She really should have put her foot down when she realized Josie was falling for this kid, but she didn't and now her little girl had feelings for a wonderful boy who could very well end up dying. "There you are." Callie said as she stepped into the surgical gallery to find her daughter sitting in the back row. "I thought Mama told you to come to me?"

"She did." Josie replied without taking her eyes off what was happening down in the OR.

"Then why are you here?" Callie asked in a gentle yet firm tone.

"Because I'm to young to go to Joe's." Josie answered deadpan.

Callie really had to hold in her snort of amusement. Her kid could be such a smartass when she wanted to be, and the really funny part was the fact that Josie didn't really know she was being a smartass most of the time. Stepping up to the back row Callie took the chair beside her little girl. "What are we watching?"

"Aunt Meredith's doing a right frontal craniotomy." Josie replied.

Callie looked at her fourteen almost fifteen year old and blinked. The girl knew things that Callie never would have thought of knowing at that age. She wonders if maybe letting the kids hang out at the hospital so much caused them to grow up a little faster then normal kids. She looked over at the window and down at Meredith Grey. Meredith had grown up in this hospital just like her kids had, she would have known about craniotomies and resections and tumors at a young age, and she turned out fairly ok. Sure she'd been all dark and twisty when she was younger but she'd grown up. There was also one major difference between Meredith and her kids, her kids had mothers who loved them beyond belief, who wanted them and treasured them.

"Aunt Teddy's doing a lobectomy later, I saw it on the board." Josie said, not seeing the look on her mother's face. "She and Mama will have to do one on Conner."

"Josie, Mama never said that it was Conner." Callie tried to derail her daughter's train of thought but she wasn't sure why. Josie knew, they all knew, it was Conner. Why try to avoid the truth? Callie sighed. She just wanted to spare her little girl pain.

Josie finally turned to look at her Mommy. "He's her next appointment. She always goes over scans and results just before meeting with her patients and their families. Plus, I could see it in her eyes. It's the same look you have in yours."

"I'm so sorry mija." Callie said softly as she put her arm around her little girl's shoulders.

"Don't be." Josie said as she leaned into her Mommy eyes, her gaze still firmly on what was happening below. "Conner will be fine. Mama is the best, and so is Aunt Teddy, and they'll beat it this time."

"They are the best." Callie replied as she hugged Josie to her a little more tightly.

Walking into Arizona's office later Callie could tell that her wife was hurting. She had long-term patients, but her cases were never like Arizona's. She didn't know what it was like to spend years treating a child, hoping that in the end that child will get a chance at a full and healthy life, only to end up losing the fight in the end. No wonder her beautiful wife dreamed of tiny coffins.

"This is fucked up, Calliope." Arizona said before Callie had a chance to say a word. She hadn't needed her too, Arizona knew when her wife was around; she could just sense it. "This whole situation is fucked up."

"I know." Callie said. She was a little taken aback by Arizona's swearing. There were only two reasons Arizona would swear like that. She was either talking dirty in the bedroom or she was so frustrated and upset she was flustered to the point of resorting to grunting and coarse language.

"Where's Josie?" Arizona asked as she finally turned to look at her wife.

"In the gallery with Addie." Callie answered softly. "They're watching Teddy."

Arizona frowned. "That has to stop. We have to stop letting her do that. We have to stop bringing her here. That's part of the reason this is so fucked up. She knew, Calliope, she looked at the scan and she knew. What fourteen year old can do that?"

"Arizona." Callie said softly as she moved closer.

"I should have put a stop to it before it started." Arizona continued. "The first time I saw her with him. I should have said no, I should have told her not to…"

"What? Be his friend?" Callie asked. "Arizona."

"Yes." Arizona huffed and then sighed. "No. I don't know. But I should have done something!"

"Are you giving up on Conner?" Callie asked bluntly.

Arizona's eyes went wide. "No!" She replied. "Of course not!" Then she sighed and finally let Callie pull her into an embrace. "This isn't going to be easy. I don't want Josie to hurt."

"I don't either." Callie held Arizona tightly and rubbed her back with soothing circles. "But they're going to need each other. He's her boyfriend. She cares about him. She's going to want to be there for him, and he's going to need her. We can't, no matter how much we want too, separate them like that."

"Conner's a great kid." Arizona said softly as she held tightly to her wife. "But why did he have to be the first one our baby girl gave her heart too?"

A couple of days later Conner had been readmitted to Seattle Grace – Mercy West. Josie was there as soon as she was allowed to be. She brought McDonalds and DVDs so she and Conner could just relax. He was scheduled for surgery the following evening. Her Mama and her Aunt Teddy would be removing the upper lobe of his lung, and then after he recovered from surgery he would have to go through chemo. Josie just wanted him to take a few hours to forget everything, but it was harder to do then she thought.

Josie was laying next to Conner in his hospital bed while they wiped out a box of chicken mcnuggets and fries. They'd been watching a movie but now that it was over they had time to talk. Josie had been avoiding talking. At first they talked about how much time Josie was spending with her sister, but that didn't last long. Sophie going off to college at the end of the summer was another reason Josie cried herself to sleep these days.

"What do you think you wanna do after graduation?" Conner asked after taking another DVD out of Josie's hand before she could slide it into the laptop on his tray table.

"Travel." Josie answered. She was trying not to think, or at least over think, so she was answering quickly and honestly. "And not just the backpacking around Europe thing. I want to go to more exotic places."

Conner laughed. "Any place is more exotic then Seattle."

Josie huffed playful. "I like Seattle."

Conner gave her a smile as he wrapped an arm around her. Josie had her head on his chest and he liked that. "Name a place you want to go."

"Japan." Josie answered.

"Why Japan?" Conner asked.

Josie giggled. "They have really kick ass vending machines."

Conner laughed again. "Is that your only reason?"

Josie shook her head. "No, I kind of like the Asian culture. Don't tell my parents but I've even read up on Eastern medicine. Its pretty cool."

"Where else?" Conner asked.

"India, Turkey, South Africa, ya know far off exotic places." Josie answered. Then she titled her head up to look at him. "What about you? Where would you go?"

Conner shrugged. "I have no idea. I've never really thought about traveling before." He thought about it and then said, "I'd drive cross country. I'd get in a really great car and just drive."

"That could be pretty awesome." Josie said with a nod. She kind of liked that idea. "What are you going to do after you graduate?"

Conner just shrugged. He wasn't sure he'd make it to his graduation.

Out in the hall Arizona stood by the nurse's station with Teddy. She watched her little girl and sighed. This was just too much drama. This wasn't how a normal first relationship should be. Her little girl shouldn't have to be facing something like this so early on in her life. What if this experience scared her for life? "Would it be wrong to send her to Miami for the rest of the summer?"

"Yes." Teddy answered honestly. "If you send her away and something, god forbid, happened to him. She would never forgive you, Arizona. I know you want to protect her from everything that could possibly hurt her, but you can't."

"I know." Arizona said with a soft sigh. "I know."

During Conner's surgery Josie sat in the hospital chapel with her sister. She wasn't praying, though she did say one when she first walked into the room, she just wanted to be somewhere other then in the hospital without actually leaving the hospital. She was glad that it was Sophie sitting with her because her grown ups were starting to get on her nerves. She knew her mothers were uneasy about all of this, her father down right hated it, and her aunts and uncles kept giving her sad eyes. Sophie was the only one who didn't look at her as if she were a Greek or Shakespearean tragedy. As Josie lay on the pew with her head in her sister's lap she wondered what she was going to do once Sophie went off to Stanford. Her sister was her best friend.

"Life sucks." Josie suddenly said.

Sophie looked down into her sister's sapphire eyes as she combed her fingers through her sister's blonde hair. "Yeah I know."

"Conner has cancer and your leaving in a few weeks." Josie said as she sat up. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs. "This all really bites."

Sophie reached over and pulled her sister into her side. "Conner's going to be fine and I'm just going down the coast. I'll be home to visit."

"Ya know Aunt Christina is still gloating because you choose Stanford." Josie said as she snuggled into her sister's embrace. She needed to talk about something other then the fact that her mother was cutting into her boyfriend's chest right now.

"I didn't pick Stanford because of Aunt Christina." Sophie said with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, her ego will deflate when she realizes I'm serious about not being a doctor." She squeezed her sister again. "That's totally your thing." After sitting there for a little while longer in silence Sophie said, "Venido en pequena hermana. Lets get you something to eat. You left with Mama so early this morning you didn't get any breakfast."

Josie shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

Sophie frowned. "Jo, you barely touched your dinner last night and you didn't have breakfast this morning. Don't make me page Mommy, or better yet Aunt Miranda."

Josie narrowed her eyes at her sister. "You wouldn't."

Sophie pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

"Sophie." Josie said as she glared at her sister.

"Josephine." Sophie replied with her own glare.

Josie pouted in a way that made her look even more like her Mama. "You play dirty."

Down in the cafeteria Josie was sitting at a table with her sister and picking at the tuna salad Sophie made her get. Every time the door opened Josie's head snapped up as if she were expecting Conner to walk through the door, or maybe someone with an update on his surgery at least. This time when she looked up she quickly ducked her head again. The last thing she wanted to deal with was a busy body like Doctor Sydney Heron.

"Well if it isn't the Torres-Robbins girls." Sydney said in a high-pitched overly perky tone.

"It's Robbins-Torres." Josie corrected.

"Oh, that's right." Sydney replied with a fake surgery smile. Sydney had just returned to SGMW after the hospital she was working at in a suburb of Portland closed. With Bailey taking over as Chief of Surgery there'd been an opening for a general surgeon, which Sydney couldn't pass up. So much had changed since she'd been away and yet nothing ever changed. The surgeons of SGMW were still very clicky and she was still very much an outsider.

"Is there something we can do for you Doctor Heron?" Sophie asked as she noticed her sister getting a little uneasy.

Sydney continued to smile as she shook her head. "No, I just wanted to stop and see how Josie was doing." She turned to look at Josie as she continued. "I heard that your little friend was in surgery, and though I question the ethics of allowing her children to befriend dying patients, I would never let my children hang out around here the way some surgeons do, Doctor Robbins is a colleague and I felt that I should offer my support to you on her behalf. If you have any questions or concerns I'd be more then happy to talk to you while you wait for word from the OR."

"Thank you but no thank you." Josie replied before Sophie could. "If I had questions or concerns I would take them one of my aunts or uncles, you know the real surgeons in this hospital."

"Excuse me?" Sydney huffed, still smiling.

"Josie." Sophie whispered.

But Josie wasn't hearing it. She needed to lash out and this walking packet of saccharin just happen to be the dummy that walked up on her. "You're a shadow surgeon, a B lister, and you're hella annoying. I mean, seriously, my mother is the queen of sweetness and perky, she's all about the rainbows and butterflies, and magic fairy dust IVs; and you annoy the hell out of her. So take the condescending way you say their names because you don't really approve of my mothers, take your twenty year old bitterness over my Mom beating you out for chief resident, and take whatever drama that turned you into mary freaking sunshine al la Steven King, and slip back into the shadows with the other shadow surgeons." As Sophie was pulling her to her feet Josie added. "And yes, my mothers did raise me better then this, but I'm having a really bad day."

Sophie pulled her little sister out of the cafeteria with all eyes on them. They walked away in silence but then she asked, "Feel better?"

"Yes." Josie said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and started typing out a text.

"What are you doing?" Sophie asked.

Josie sighed. "Texting Mommy to let her know I went off like that because she can hear it on the grapevine."

"What made you go off like that?" Sophie asked as they stepped into the elevator.

The blonde teen shrugged at her raven-haired sister. "I just needed to let off some steam and I've always wanted to call her out on the snarky way she speaks when it comes to M&M."

As they made their way to the surgical waiting room the two sisters were lost in their own thoughts for a few minutes. Then Sophie looked at her sister and said, "She has kids?"

Josie snorted. "I know right? Who the hell did she have kids with?"

"I bet whoever it is, they're a total Ned Flanders type." Sophie replied and then cracked up laughing as she put an arm around her sister's shoulders.

Walking into the surgical waiting area Josie looked around and quickly spotted Conner's mother. She took a deep breath and plastered on a warm, reassuring smile as she made her way over the woman who was sitting with her brother and his partner. Her brother had spotted Josie first and nudged his sister who looked up to meet Josie's gaze. "Hi Mrs. Davis."

"Josie." Piper Davis said with her own warm smile. "Did you just get here?"

Josie hugged the woman who'd offered the hug first. "No. I came in with my Mama. I've been in the chapel."

Piper gave an understanding nod as she greeted Sophie. The girls spent the rest of the time Conner was in surgery with his family. His father worked for a logging company and was out on a job so he couldn't be there, but his mother kept him updated via text message. As they waited the girls helped keep Piper distracted by talking about their family. Every time the double doors to the ORs opened, heads all over the room snapped up, and Josie was reminded of the conversation she'd once had with her Aunt Miranda about that moment of uncertainty that happens between seeing the surgeon and speaking to them. Josie felt that moment for herself when she looked up at the sound of the doors opening and she saw her Mama and Aunt Teddy walked out in their surgical gowns and scrub caps. There was a sudden tightness in her chest and she couldn't breath as they walked towards them. Conner's mom shot and uncles shot to their feet while she remained sitting. Her questioning sapphire eyes darted away from her mother's gaze because she was afraid of what she'd see there.

Sophie put her arm around her sister's shoulders and pulled the younger teen close as she watched her mother and aunt speaking softly with Conner's family.

"Everything went well." Arizona began. "But we did decided to go ahead and remove a little more of the lung then we first thought."

"Because of the location of the tumor I made the call to remove the upper and middle lobe." Teddy explained. "The rest of the lung and the lymph nodes all looked clean and clear."

"He's in recovering right now, but he'll be moved to the PICU soon." Arizona continued. "I'll take you up to him now."

"Thank you Doctor Robbins, Doctor Altman." Piper said after listening.

Arizona have the woman a reassuring smile and then lead her away after glancing over at Josie who had her face pressed into Sophie's chest. It took a lot for Arizona to walk away and honestly the only reason she was able too was because Teddy moved towards her girls.

The second her Aunt Teddy sat beside her Josie turned away from Sophie and into her arms. Sophie had been amazing but Josie needed to hear the reassuring things Teddy was saying. As Teddy told her that everything went well, Josie took her aunt's hands, hands that had just minutes ago been deep in Conner's chest, hands who had held bits of his lungs, and held onto them as if they were something amazing. Josie hadn't really thought about it until now, but her Aunt's hands, her Mama's hands, they held hearts and lungs; lives and deaths everyday. For a moment, Josie was simply in awe.

"You won't be able to see him until he's back in a normal room." Teddy said as she brushed at Josie's hair. "But I'll let him now you were here, so why don't you let Sophie take you home?"

Josie shook her head. "No, I'd better wait. I'm not sure if I'm in trouble yet or not."

Teddy looked confused. "In trouble for what?"

Sophie explained what happened in the cafeteria and Teddy laughed even though she knew she shouldn't have. Teddy stayed with her best friend's girls until Arizona came back. After sending Sophie off to find Callie, Arizona led Josie up to the attending's lounge. Falling onto one of the couches the older blonde reached up and tugged on her little girl's hand until Josie was sitting beside her. Josie cuddled into her Mama's embrace, holding to her just as tightly as Arizona was holding her.

After several long, silent moments Josie finally asked, "Is he going to be ok?"

"I really think he will be." Arizona said softly. "But I can't make promises at this point, Josie. All I can promise is that I will do everything I can to make sure he has a chance."

Josie just nodded. She trusted in her Mama and that was all she needed.

Several more long silent minutes passed. This time it was Arizona who spoke up. "You shouldn't have been so rude to Doctor Heron."

Josie flinched. "I know."

Arizona nodded. "Good."

Sitting back a little so she could look up at her Mama, Josie blinked. "That's it?"

Arizona nodded with a smile. "She is super annoying. Just don't make a habit if it. She is an adult, she is one of Aunt Miranda's surgeons, and that's gets her a certain amount of regard."

"Ok Mama." Josie said as she went back to cuddling close. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you and Mommy by making a scene."

"You didn't." Arizona replied, reassuring her daughter. She placed a kiss at Josie's temple and then just held her until Callie came to take the girls home.


	20. Age Fifteen: Conner: Part Four

Part Four

Sitting in the oncology treatment room of Seattle Grace – Mercy West hospital, Josie Robbins-Torres was trying really hard to keep her frustration and stress away from her boyfriend, Conner Davis. Conner had just had part of his lung removed a month ago and was now under going some pretty intense chemotherapy to treat his cancer. This was Conner's second four-hour treatment and Josie was trying to keep things light for him, but Conner knew her, he could tell something was bugging her. It took a good twenty minutes but he was finally able to convince Josie to tell him what was wrong.

"What exactly is a whatever you just said in Spanish?" Conner asked while his favorite nurse, Danielle hung the first bag of chemo medicine now that he was finish with the thirty-minute prep-meds.

Josie giggled. It had been hard work but she'd managed to get Conner through his Spanish class last year, but apparently it had all gone right out the window once he'd passed the class. "A Quinceanera. It's this big huge deal that happens when a girl from a Latin American family turns fifteen. It's a rite of passage kind of thing. Normally there's a religious aspect to it, but we're not really a hugely religious family. Well, except for my Abuela, who is having a fit because I'm not having a religious part for mine."

"Why not?" Conner asked.

"Because it's normally a Catholic thing and we're not Catholic because the Catholic Church is being stubborn and still won't recognize my mothers' marriage or even their right to be together at all." Josie said with a slight huff. She'd had this conversation with her grandmother more times then she could count since they started planning this whole thing. "I'm not going to honor the traditions of a church that believes my mothers are going to hell for loving each other."

Conner thought for a moment and then asked, "Did your sister have one of these things?"

Josie nodded. "She agreed to have an Episcopal service in place of Catholic mass."

"Why not do that?" Conner asked.

Josie glared at him. "Now you sound like my mothers. Whose side are you on? You're my boyfriend."

Conner was a smart boy. He knew when to leave well enough alone. Plus, he to busy smiling a silly grin over the fact that Josie said he was her boyfriend. "Ok, so, what else is involved with this thing?"

"A massive party." Josie explained. "With rituals and everything." She went on to explain that different Latin countries had different traditions and that hers' would be a mix of mostly Cuban with a little Mexican, and some newer American touches for some flair.

"What does newer American mean?" Conner interrupted.

Josie snorted. "I'm not wearing freaking pink. It's bad enough I'll be wearing a massive ball gown. I'm not wearing a pink one."

Conner laughed and then asked, "Ball gown?"

"Yeah." Josie replied with a nod. "It's a formal ball kind of deal, ladies in ball gowns and men in tuxedos. I'll have a court like prom or something. And there's lots of dancing. I'm really looking forward to that." Josie smiled softly. "I get to dance with Dad."

The smile on Josie's face made Conner smile. Despite the frustration of working out the details, it was pretty clear to him that Josie was excited about this whole thing. He listened to her explain a little more and then his attention was caught by something she said about the dancing. "So, you'd have a special dance with your boyfriend?"

Josie nodded and then ducked her head. "Yeah. After I dance with my Dad, and my Moms, because this is my party and that's what I want, I get to dance with either a boyfriend or a special male friend."

The look of sadness in Josie's sapphire eyes was killing him. "I'll be there if you want me there."

"Of course I want you to come!" Josie said as her head snapped up. She looked right into his stunning green eyes. "But it's only a few weeks away and you'll still be in here. You can't mess up your treatment, Conner."

"I won't." Conner promised. "I'm sure I can get out of here for a night. I mean, seriously, how many doctors will be at this thing?"

Josie actually counted. "Mama, Mommy, Dad, Lexie, my aunts Addie, Teddy, Miranda, Meredith, Christina, my Uncles Derek, Owen, Alex. Then there's Richard, April, Avery, and…"

Conner laughed as he watched Josie count off on her fingers. "My point is that I think I'll be covered medically."

A very pretty blush colored Josie's cheeks.

The blush made Conner smile. "So, what do you have against pink?"

Josie shrugged. "I'm just more Elphaba then Glinda."

Conner blinked. "Who?"

"Elphaba and Glinda." Josie replied. "Ya know, green and pink, Wicked, oh my god how do you not know about Wicked?" Josie squealed as she stared at Conner in genuine shock.

"Oh my god you're wearing pink!" Arizona squealed as she sat on the couch in the living room of the home she shared with her wife and children. She had her laptop on her lap with several open email attachments cluttering her screen. "I am so using this one as my wallpaper!"

Callie frowned slightly as she walked over to look over her wife's shoulder. "You've seen pictures of me from my Quinceanera before, Arizona."

Arizona just giggled as she opened another attachment. "I saw the official picture that you showed me for five seconds while we were planning Sophie's. My awesome mother-in-law is sending me the ones she took. I still can't believe you in all that pink taffeta!"

"I wish that I would have had the choices Josie has." Callie groaned. "I didn't like pink any more back then than I do now, but Mami was not as flexible about things like tradition, so I sucked it up and crammed myself into all those pink ruffles."

"Josie would look so pretty in pink." Arizona said as she felt Callie slip in behind her. She leaned back against her wife's body and sighed happily when Callie put her arms around her. "But then again she'll look pretty in whatever dress she finally picks out."

Callie hugged her wife tightly as she rested her chin on Arizona's shoulder. "I can't believe our baby girl will be fifteen in a couple days. I can still hear her screaming iapee from your arms in the middle of the surgical floor." Callie giggled and beamed. Josie's first word had been a rather good attempt at saying Calliope. "Holding her little arms out to me with those big bright happy to see me eyes."

"The toddler who suddenly let go of your fingers and just suddenly walked over to me when she saw me come out of the scrub room." Arizona said with an understanding nod. "The adorable little three year old who refused to wear anything but scrubs for six months."

"Navy scrubs because she knew she was that good." Callie said with a laugh.

Arizona's face flushed at the next memory that surfaced. "The five year old who asked us at breakfast one morning why you were screaming my name the night before."

"Or when our eight year old informed us that the bruise on your neck was called a hickey." Callie added with a laugh and her own blush. "And that the bruise on the back of your shoulder was also a hickey, because a hickey was a bruise caused by kissing, and apparently I like kissing the back of your shoulder."

The blonde peds surgeon and mother of three smiled when she felt her wife's lips press against her bare shoulder while her finger lightly trailed against the edge of the strap of Arizona's baby blue tank top. Callie had always loved kissing her there, biting her, marking her there, and it normally drove Arizona insane with want and lust. The only thing that turned her on faster was when Callie did that to her inner thighs. Any desire Arizona might have felt from her wife's kisses quickly faded when her sapphire gaze feel on the cardinal red sweatshirt draped over the armchair by the fireplace.

"Calliope." Arizona said with a sudden sadness in her voice and tears in her eyes. She felt her wife hum against her skin where she was still kissing the softness of Arizona's shoulders in response. "Our girls grew up."

Callie stopped what she was doing to hold Arizona a little more tightly. "I know baby." Her own voice was soft. "Believe me I know." Callie had carried the girls, she'd felt them flutter and grow inside her. She'd felt them kick and stretch and she was still convinced dance in her womb. When she was carrying Sophie, whenever Arizona would put her hand on her stomach, or whisper to her baby bump, Sophie would kick and stretch out as if she were trying to burst through her body to get to her Mama. When she was pregnant with Josie their tiny human became extremely active whenever certain music played. Josie had liked Lady Gaga and Katy Perry the most and moved around in ways that was almost painful for her. So yeah, Callie was painfully aware of the fact that their baby girls were growing up, that Sophie was legally grown and off to college in a few weeks, and that this whole thing marked the beginning of the end of Josie's childhood.

Both women had silent tears rolling down their faces when Arizona's laptop pinged to let her know she'd gotten another email from Callie's mother. Without thinking she opened the email and the attachment. Watery blue eyes shot open. "Oh my god! You're blonde!"

Callie's eyes were huge as well and she quickly snapped the laptop closed. Then she warned in a low menacing tone, "We do not talk about the blonde times."

Arizona was giggling like mad as she tried to get the laptop back open but Callie wiggled her way free from Arizona and quickly hopped off the couch. "Calliope I wanna see that!"

"No!" Callie said as she moved across the room.

Blue eyes sparkled as Arizona snatched up her iPhone and opened her email from it. "OMG!"

Callie groaned. "Who actually says that out loud?"

"Look at you!" Arizona said in a squeal. "Blonde! I'm sending this to Mark! Ooo! And Addie!"

"Don't you dare!" Callie said as she charged across the room, tossing the laptop onto the couch as she passed.

Arizona wouldn't really send the picture out but she was enjoying playing with her wife. When Callie tried to reach for her phone Arizona stepped out the way and giggled. "I should post it to facebook!"

"Arizona Faith Robbins-Torres I swear if you show anyone that picture I'll bust your ass!" Callie threatened as she made another grab for the phone.

Arizona's breath caught for a moment before her voice dropped low. "Why, Calliope, you haven't done that in ages. Are you trying to discourage me or encourage me to send this picture to all our friends?"

The tone of Arizona's voice caused Callie's breath to hitch. She watched as Arizona tapped on the screen of her phone with a mischievous grin. Instead of reaching out to grab the phone Callie reached out and landed a semi-hard smack to her wife's bottom that caused Arizona to gasp, and her grin to get brighter. Callie felt her blackberry buzz in her back pocket. It was a text from Arizona. It was the picture with text that read, 'Race you upstairs, blondie.' Callie looked up and Arizona took that as her signal to run. "You're going to pay for that roller girl!"

After picking Mac up from his art class, Sophie swung by the hospital to pick up Josie. The three of them then headed to their favorite waterside dinner for a late lunch. Sophie wanted to spend as much time with her sister and brother as she could before leaving for Stanford. When they'd first gotten into the car after the hospital stop, Josie had been sullen and quiet. She had been as upbeat as she could while with Conner, but now that she was away from him she could take a few minutes for herself. She stared out the window while Sophie drove, thinking about the emotional roller coaster she was on. She kept thinking about something her Aunt Teddy said about people coming in and out of your life for a reason, and that you don't always know what those reasons are until later. Every person, no matter how long they were in her life, would have an impact on it. What universal power thought that at fourteen, soon to be fifteen, a girl needed to be this intimately familiar with cancer and the possibility of death?

Josie had used the car ride to wade through her heaviest thoughts so by the time they reached the dinner she was able to enjoy her time with Sophie and Mac. They were seated at their favorite table on the deck that hung out over the water. Josie hide her amusement over Sophie repeatedly having to tell their little brother to turn around and eat, because he was so busy watching the ferries and other boats out on the water, by cramming her mouth with fries. Once he had finally finished eating Sophie let Mac go over to the high railing to watch the boats and throw bits of bread out to the sea birds.

"Soph," Josie said once they were alone. "If I make an appointment for a tanning salon will you take me? I need an adult."

"You need a parent's permission not just an adult." Sophie answered. "And there's no way M&M would agree to let you cook yourself in a tanning bed. Why do you want to go tanning anyway?"

Josie looked at her sister as if the answer to the question should be clear. "I don't want to the out of place white girl at my own party."

"Josie." Sophie moaned with a roll of her eyes. "You've never worried about your looks before? And you know looks don't have anything to do with who we are. What is it that Mama's always saying? We are who she and Mommy are raising us to be? Our skin tones and hair color have nothing to do with that."

"So is that a no to the tanning salon?" Josie asked. She really didn't want a lecture from her sister and this just wasn't a topic worth fighting for. Sophie was right. Josie knew who and what she was, and her looks had nothing to do with that. But Josie was a young teenage girl and she had her insecurities.

Sophie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yes, that's a no to tanning." After looking at pictures of Josie's possible dress choices and talking pros and cons, and possible hairstyles, Sophie checked the time on her watch. "Mac, come on bud. We need to get home."

"Few more minutes Soph!" Mac called back from the railing. The boy absolutely loved the water and boats.

"Sorry Mac." Sophie said as she and Josie walked over to him after paying the bill. "We need to get home. Besides, it's guys' night. You love guys' night."

Mac came away from the railing with a pout on his cute little face. "I don't care about guys' night."

"You don't like guys' night because now you have to share Dad with Ryder." Josie teased as they walked out to the car. Lexie had finally decided she wanted a baby and apparently twins ran in the Grey family, so now Josie, Sophie, and Mac had a half brother Ryder Greyson and half sister Zoey Annabel. "When are you going to get over it Mac? Ryder isn't going anywhere. You like Zoey."

"Because Zoey's a girl." Mac said with a huff. "I liked being the only boy."

"You're still M&M's only boy." Josie pointed out. "That'll never change. Mama's put her foot down. No more babies no matter how much Mommy begs."

Sophie just shook her head at her brother and sister. Josie of all people was the last person to pick on someone for not liking new babies. She'd thrown a fit that lasted for three months when their mothers told them their Mama was pregnant. "Mac, you'll have fun with Dad. Ryder is too little for guys' night. I bet Aunt Lexie keeps him with her and Zoey tonight." Then she glanced at her sister. "Call home and let M&M know we're on our way."

Josie looked confused. "Why?"

"Because we've left them home alone for hours." Sophie said softly so Mac couldn't hear. "All alone."

"Ewww." Josie said with a scrunched nose. Taking her phone out of her pocket she dialed their home number.

"Hola mija, what's wrong?" Callie said after the fifth ring.

Josie rolled her eyes. "Nothing Mommy. Sophie just wanted me to call and tell you we're on our way home just in case you and Mama are still having sex."

That got a ringing course of, "Josie!"

Birthday parties were always saved for the weekend, so on their actual birthdays their parents took them out to dinner, or if their birthday was on a Saturday brunch. Josie had explained this to Conner and he asked her if she could stop by to see him on their way to the Archfield. Josie was having a great day so far. Her Mommy had made her favorite breakfast, she'd gotten a spa day with just her and both her moms, and now she was on her way to a family dinner. She had a bright smile on her face when she walked into Conner's room and she couldn't help but giggle when Conner's eyes roamed over her. She was wearing a new cream-colored dress and her hair was done up in tight curls.

"You look great." Conner said with a huge grin on his face.

"Thanks." Josie said as she walked over and sat on the edge of his bed.

"I'm glad you got to stop by." Conner said as he looked over Josie's shoulder and waved at the doctors Robbins-Torres who were both standing out by the nurses station looking as good as their daughter.

Josie looked as well and then back at Conner. "Me too. How are you feeling?"

"Less like something the dog hocked up." Conner replied. "Which is good." He looked a little nervous as he reached over and picked up a small, square box wrapped in ducky paper with a bow. He bit his lip as he held it out to Josie. "Happy Birthday Josie."

"What's this?" Josie asked as she took the gift.

Conner laughed. "It's a birthday present goof. Open it."

Josie couldn't stop smiling as she ripped off the paper and opened the flat square box. When she saw the silver charm bracelet inside her smile turned into a little gasp. "Oh Conner I love it."

Conner picked the bracelet up to show Josie the little charm of the Space Needle. "I was thinking about how much you like the idea of traveling. I mean, you're always watching travel shows and you have a mad crush on Samantha Brown." He said, still a little nervously. "So, I thought, maybe, when you do start to travel, you could add charms to mark the places you go. I added the Space Needle cause…"

"Seattle's home." Josie said as she tried to blink away the burn in her eyes. "I love it Conner. Thank you." Blue eyes looked into green for a moment until Conner looked down to put the bracelet on. Josie's gaze flicked to her wrist and then back up to Conner's eyes. The two teens were quiet for a moment before they each started to lean a little closer. Josie's eyes closed just as her lips pressed against Conner's for the first time. It was a little awkward at first but then there was this little flair of something that let Josie know she really liked this. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck as he reached up to cup her cheek.

As soon as she knew what was happening Callie jerked forward as if she were going to stop it from happening but Arizona quickly reached out and grabbed her wife's arm. "It's her first kiss, Calliope, don't ruin it."

Callie hadn't wanted to ruin the moment. She just wanted to keep her little girl her little girl. When Josie came out of Conner's room she gushed over her daughter's new trinket and smiled at the happiness in Josie's bright sapphire eyes, and she felt blessed that she'd gotten to witness such a special milestone in her daughter's life, but she was also replaying all her memories of Josie as her little girl. All through dinner Callie kept thinking about when she and Arizona had been the center of Josie's world. Had there been a notable moment when that stopped? Or had it just been so gradual that they just hadn't noticed so they couldn't fight against it? It felt as if she'd blinked and suddenly that tiny little baby she held in her arms as the early morning sun peeped in through her hospital room window was gone, replaced by a beautiful young woman.

The ballroom of the Archfield was all decked out and full of Josie's loved ones, friends, and enough food to feed the entire island of Cuba. Some of the guests, Josie's closest family members, had just been at the religious mass with Father Tomas that Josie had finally given into, and others were just arriving for the party. Josie had kept many of the Quinceanera traditions that her grandparents and Mommy been telling her about, but she made a few tweaks here and there. She agreed to have a court, but she kept it small, eight rather then fourteen or more. Sophie, Carol Shepherd, Emily Montgomery, Lillian Nina Hunt, were the girls she'd picked, Chris and George Shepherd, Michael Karev, and Ethan Montgomery were the boys. Mac, being her brother, got to be her escort for the evening and he was taking his responsibilities seriously. There was a little family huff over the fact that Josie didn't pick her cousins, Diego and Ruben, to take part but she wasn't close to them and she only wanted the people she was close too so close involved.

Though Josie stuck to her guns about not wearing pink; her dress was a very pretty, very soft blue with satin bodice, sweetheart strapless neckline, circular tulle ball gown skirt, and sparkling beading, she did give in to wearing a tiara, but refused a veil. She had happily, tearfully, excepted the Rosary her Abuela had given her that morning, which Lucia had had blessed by their Priest at their family Parish, because she knew how much it meant to her grandmother. But she had refused to accept or carry a scepter.

After making her formal entrance and greeting her guests Josie listened to her Abuelo give the first of many speeches that would happen over the evening. He explained to the largely non-Hispanic crowd what a Quinceanera was and why it had meaning for their family. After a little more mingling the rituals started. Addison, as her godmother, and Alex as her godfather, presented her with her gifts. One of which was a beautiful porcelain doll that looked like her and was dressed just like her, and if she were honest, kind of creeped her out. The doll, called the last doll, was meant to represent her last toy since this was all about her moving from childhood to womanhood. She giggled as she sat on a chair as he Dad knelt in front of her changing her flats into high heels, another symbol of her growing up. Of course Josie wasn't really finished with playing, and tomorrow she'd be right back in her Heelys.

Josie was starting to fear that Conner had been to sick, to weak to make it, but just as the formal dancing was about to start he walked in. He was wearing a tux, his tie and vest the same shade of blue as her dress. He was handsome, and she took his breath away. Josie didn't want to many formal dances; just the ones she felt were the most important. Her first dance was with her father to Go Fish's You're My Little Girl. Then breaking with tradition, rather then dancing with all her close male relatives, she danced with her mothers. I'll Always be Your Baby by Natalie Grant played while she danced with Arizona. Helen Reddy's You and Me Against the World played as she waltzed, much to her Abuela's happiness, with Callie.

Josie had painstakingly picked out the music for her dances so when she saw Conner walk over to the DJ and talk to him while she danced with her brother, she because a little nervous. She watched as he walked over to speak with her mothers. Her Mommy nodded, and then he headed her way. There was a bright smile on his face as he tapped Mac on the shoulder. "May I cut in?"

Mac looked between Conner and his sister.

"I'll dance with you again, Mac. I promise." Josie said with a beaming smile of her own.

"Ok." Mac said. Then he looked at Conner. "I'm watching you. She's my sister."

Josie blushed a little as she rolled her eyes, but everything came to a slow halt as she felt Conner wrap his arms around her. "Are you sure you feel up to this?"

Conner nodded, his smile never wavering. "Never felt better."

Angel by My Side by Do started to play. It wasn't the song she'd picked out, not that she could remember what the song was now, because this song was perfect. As she danced with Conner everyone in the room melted away. For the moment it was just the two of them and as the words of the song and their meaning sank in her eyes filled with tears. He was calling her his angel. The kiss was natural, it was tender and sweet, and it would be a moment Josie would remember for the rest of her life.

For Conner, it would be the best moment of his.


	21. Age Fifteen: Conner: Part Five

Part Five

Even for someone born and raised in Seattle the weather could take it's toll, so for those who came to Seattle from other places the seemingly endless overcast and rain could be mind numbing. A break from the weather, a break from work, a break from life in Seattle was why Callie and Arizona Robbins-Torres had agreed to co-own a massive California beach house with their friend Addison Altman-Montgomery. The massive house was right on the coastline, giving them a private beach. It had two master suites, and six other bedrooms. The huge living room was open and spacious with both outside walls opening to the outdoors, and giving a breathtaking view of the ocean coastline and surrounding hills. The family room sported a huge entrainment center on one wall, a massive built in aquarium in another, and banks of French doors that lead to the deck, patio, and pool. Many wonderful summers and long holiday weekends had been spent at the house by both families, but for the first time Josephine Robbins-Torres was there without her parents. It was a sisters only weekend. Both Josie and Sophie had Monday off and because they felt Josie needed a break from missing her sister and her cancer fighting boyfriend Conner, Callie and Arizona had agreed to let her miss school on Friday so she could fly down to LA on Thursday night. Sophie only had one class on Friday mornings so she was more then willing to skip Western Civ to pick her baby sister up at the airport and then drive out to the beach out for the weekend.

Josie had been a little reluctant to leave Conner behind for four and half days, but she just couldn't pass up this alone time with Sophie. Conner had been getting better; he'd even been released from the hospital and was home, which was a huge load off Josie's shoulders. Not having to worry about Conner left her time to really, really miss her sister. Her mothers had lost count of the number of times they'd find Josie asleep in Sophie's room rather then her own, her sapphire blue eyes pink and puffy from crying herself to sleep. So it was agreed that the girls would use the beach house this weekend with their mothers blessing and constant reminders that they trusted the girls, and that if that trust was broken there wouldn't be any more sisters only weekends, but there would be two very sorry little girls.

"So that's like your place?" Conner asked as he looked at the images on his computer screen. Josie was showing him the house over facetime. "Your moms own it?"

"Well, they own half." Josie said with a chuckle. "My Aunt Addie owns the other half."

Conner just shook his head and chuckled nervously. "Jos, it's like a mini mansion. I mean I still get floored when I walk into your normal house. That's a mini mansion in Cali on the beach."

"Wait till this summer." Josie said as she fell back onto the white plush sofa in the living room. "I'm planning on asking if you can come with us. You have no idea how much fun it is here. Then you'll really feel floored."

"You're going to ask your moms if you can bring your boyfriend on vacation with you?" Conner asked with a smirk on his face that made his green eyes dance.

Josie loved that look. "Yeap." She said brightly. "Me and you on the beach. You in trunks, me in a…"

"JoJo!" Sophie called out as she came down the hall stairs. "Come on, we're burning daylight!"

"I have to go." Josie told Conner with a heavy sigh that quickly turned into a dazzling smile. "Sophie and I are going shopping."

Conner just shook his head. "I'm never going to get use to the fact that you're some kind of heiress."

Josie laughed. "You'll deal. Just don't ever compare me to Paris Hilton again and we'll be cool." When Josie first tried to explain things to Conner, that her family had money, and that her grandfather was a bit of a hotel mogul, he'd said, "So, you're like Paris Hilton or something?" Josie had snorted after punching him in the arm. "No! I have self respect and intelligence, and my Abuelo's hotels are hella classier and more upscale then any old Hilton."

"Josie!" Sophie yelled.

"Gotta run." Josie said with a groan. "Love you."

"Love you too. Have fun babe." Conner replied before cutting the call.

The girls had decided to spend Friday on the beach, Saturday in LA, Sunday just doing whatever, and Monday before heading home was just going to be chilling. After having breakfast in their Aunt's convertible sports car while driving down the PCH, the Robbins-Torres sisters hit all the trendy shops and for a few hours acted and spent like the heiresses they actually were. While sitting in a new hot Japanese pop culture sushi bar, the girls talked and laughed.

"So, what's this Cory guy like?" Josie asked her sister after finding out that Sophie had been out with a film student she'd met at a frozen yogurt bar off campus.

"He's funny, he's cute, and he's creative." Sophie answered. "We've only been out a couple of times though so we're still getting to know each other."

Josie couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Are you going to go out with him again?"

Sophie shrugged. "We might do something next weekend."

"Are you two, ya know?" Josie asked as she wagged her eyes brows. "Doing the McNasty with the junior McHottie?"

"Josie!" Sophie said as she sputtered on the sip of tea she'd just taken. "You're hanging out in the surgical gallery with the twisted sisters again aren't you?"

"You left me." Josie said deadpan. "I'm lonely and in desperate need of sisterly interaction. So, are you?"

Sophie rolled her eyes before answering, "No, we're not."

Josie didn't say anything until after the waiter had brought their meals. Then she asked, "Why not?"

"We're not at that stage yet." Sophie replied. "It's only been a few dates."

Josie seemed happy with that answer because she let the topic drop. After lunch the girls went back to shopping. After finding a couple of seriously cute outfits that skated around the edge of what their mothers would let them wear in public, they decided to check out the nightlife around the beach house. After calling their mothers and making dinner at the house Josie and Sophie started getting ready for a night out. Josie had picked out a blue tunic dress with a draped neck, lace inset, and foiled floral graphic. The skirt part of the dress was black and hugged her legs mid thigh. It was short, not sluttly short, but short enough that her Mommy would have protested and put up a good fight about her wearing it. Sophie had gone for a black micro mini skirt dress with a red spaghetti strap tank under a black lace top.

As Sophie did her hair and make-up Josie picked up the conversation from lunch. "Soph?"

"Hmm?" The older girl replied as she took a bobby pin from her lips to place in her sister's dirty blonde hair.

Josie paused for a moment and then asked, "Are you still a virgin?"

Sophie was really glad that she no longer had pins in her mouth because she would have swallowed them as the unexpectedness of her sister's question ripped through her. "What?" She sputtered out as Josie turned to look at her.

"Are you still a virgin?" Josie repeated.

It was the seriousness in her sister's question that made Sophie sink onto the bed across from where Josie was sitting. "Yes, I am." She answered and then with a touch of fear and uncertainly she asked, "You are too, right?"

Josie nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Why did you think I might not be?" Sophie asked.

"Because, isn't that what you do in college?" Josie asked. "Explore the things you weren't allowed too as a kid at home."

Sophie nodded carefully. "Kind of. Yeah, being away at college gives you a chance to start taking life on a little more adult like, but that doesn't mean you go ape shit crazy and start acting all out of character and stuff. I've thought about having sex, but hell, I thought about having sex while I was still high school. It just hasn't been right for me yet."

"That'll make M&M feel better." Josie said. "They were worried you'd leave home and I quote, "Her Sloan genes will kick in." not sure what that means, but I'm pretty sure it has to do with sex."

"Josie." Sophie said, choosing to ignore what she knew about their father's days as a manwhore. "Have you and Conner talked about having sex?"

Josie shrugged. "Once, but it made me uncomfortable because he was talking about dying, and how it would suck to die a virgin."

Sophie frowned. "Josie, I know you care about Conner, and I know you care about him a lot. But don't let him pressure you into anything. You're only fifteen. You're not ready for sex."

"How do you know that?" Josie asked with a slight touch of anger in her voice.

"You blushed when you asked me if I was a virgin." Sophie replied softly. "You're eyes dart around like you're expecting to be scolded for even talking about it. Trust me baby sister, you're not ready. You'll know when you are, and there isn't anything wrong about not being ready. I'm not ready either."

Josie was quiet for a few moments before looking up. "I miss you, Soph."

Sophie got up and pulled her baby sister into her arms and hugged her tight. "I know JoJo. I miss you too. I'm just a phone call away ya know. If you ever need to talk about stuff just call me. And if you ever need me, I'll be on a phone in a flash. I promise."

After they finished getting ready the girls were able to find an age appropriate club and spent the rest of the night dancing and having fun. Everyone at the club was quickly drawn to the hot little blonde and her Latina sister. They danced without being the least bit self-conscious because they'd been raised to be proud of themselves, of their bodies, and their beauty. But they'd also been raised to respect themselves, so while the Robbins-Torres girls turned heads they did it without having to turn dancing into public sex. Even eleven hundred miles from home, the girls were still who their mothers were raising them to be.

Since it had been well past two in the morning before the girls got home, and three in the morning before they fell into bed for the night, most of Sunday was spent sleeping. When they did finally get out of bed they headed right down to the beach. Josie had been a little worried when she tried to call Conner and got no answer, but Sophie was quick to remind her that Conner had a life outside of her and the hospital. Sophie kept her sister busy for the rest their time together. Sunday night they had dinner at their favorite seafood place, they stayed up all night watching movies, talking, laughing, and just enjoying their time together. Monday morning they had breakfast on the beach, and just hung around the house until it was time to take Josie to LAX.

Callie Robbins-Torres was waiting at SeaTac for her youngest daughter. Normally Arizona would have been with her but her wife was at the hospital, where she'd been since Saturday. She'd talked to her girls that morning and could see how much better Josie had looked after spending time with Sophie, and how much better Sophie had looked as well. Her eldest wouldn't admit it to anyone but Callie could tell her baby was homesick.

"Do you see her mijo?" Callie asked her son who was standing on a chair looking for his sister.

Timothy "Mac" Robbins-Torres shook his head. "No, not yet. Are you going to tell her Conner is in the hospital again?"

Callie sighed. "Yes, I'll talk to her. I don't want you saying anything, Mac."

"I won't." Mac promised. "I don't want to make her sad. Even if she and Sophie wouldn't let me go to the beach house with them."

For the last four days all her son did was complain about not being with his sisters, but before Callie could scold him for continuing to complain she heard her daughter's voice ring out.

"Mommy!" Josie said brightly as she came running up to her mother. There was a bright smile on Josie's face as she threw her arms around her mother and hugged her. "Missed you."

"Missed you too mija." Callie said as she held her daughter tight, maybe a little tighter then she normally would have. "Look at you all tan and totally cute."

Josie smiled a huge smile. "It was a great weekend. Thanks for letting me go."

"I'm glad you and your sister had a great time." Callie said as she and her kids headed to baggage to get Josie's things. She was a little surprise when Josie came home with an extra full suitcase but didn't say anything. She really should have known the girls would go a little shopping crazy. Josie talked the whole way home about everything she and Sophie did and Callie couldn't keep the smile off her face. It had been a long time since she'd seen so much light in Josie's eyes. When they got home Josie took her stuff up to her room and then went out into the backyard with Mac and the dogs. Callie stood at the siding door watching her daughter laugh and act like a happy kid again.

"I can't do it." Callie said into her phone as she paced her and Arizona's bedroom.

"Calliope." Arizona said on the other end.

Callie shook her head, which set her raven hair dancing around her shoulders. This, teenage daughters in puppy love with dying boys, this is why she had gray hair. "She's her old self again, Arizona. She's all bubbly and light. If I tell her she'll go back to being all dark and twisty. I do not want to be Meredith Grey's mother!"

"It's bad this time, Calliope." Arizona said gently. "You need to tell her. You need to bring her here."

"What are his chances?" Callie asked as she sank down to sit on the foot of their bed.

"There's massive damage to his liver from the chemo." Arizona said honestly, sadly. "And his kidneys aren't looking so great either. I've spent hours on the phone with UNOS, we're waiting to hear back from the transplant board. I've resected what I could, but it's just damage control for now."

Callie's shoulders slumped. "Ok. Ok, we'll be there in an hour."

Josie was sitting on the couch with a slight frown. She'd been trying to get a hold of Conner but he still wasn't answering his phone, or replying to texts, and now there was no answer at his house either. Had he and his mother had plans? Was his dad in town? She couldn't remember. She'd been so caught up in being with Sophie and being at the beach house, she couldn't remember if he'd said he'd be out this weekend.

"Josie." Callie said softly as she walked over and sat beside her daughter on the couch.

"I can't get a hold of Conner." Josie said as soon as she felt her mother's presence. "I don't remember if he said he had plans."

Callie's heart was breaking. "Baby, Conner doesn't have any plans. Baby, he spiked a sudden fever and was taken to the hospital Saturday night. The chemo caused some damage to his liver and kidneys. Mama did what she could to get him stable, but…"

"No." Josie cut in as she shook her head almost violently. "No, he's going to be fine. He's had set backs before. He'll be fine. Mama's got this." She jumped to her feet. "Can you take me over there?"

"Yes, of course baby, but…" Callie started.

"I said no!" Josie said a little more forcefully. She didn't want to hear that she needed to face the fact that this might not turn out well. "He's going to be fine. Please, just take me to see him. Please Mommy."

Callie nodded. "Ok, ok, come on."

Arizona was speaking to Conner's mother when she saw her wife and daughter step off the elevator. When Josie looked at her, when their matching blue eyes met, she could see her daughter begging her to make Conner better again, begging her not to let him die. Arizona's heart broke and she had to force herself to swallow a sudden sob.

"She's been such a bright light in his life." Piper said softly as they watched Josie go into Conner's room. When Callie joined her and Arizona she looked at the girl's mothers. "Thank you for allowing that, and I'm so sorry."

Conner was laying in bed with his eyes closed and it caused a soft sob to bubble up in Josie's throat. She couldn't explain why, and she was trying like hell to ignore it, but deep down she knew this was different then all the other times. Conner just didn't look right. Walking over to the bed she reached out and took his hand.

Bright green eyes opened and looked up into bright blue ones. Conner smiled. "You're all tan. You look hot."

Josie chuckled to cover a sob. "Wait until you see me in my new dress."

"Yeah?" He replied as Josie sat gently on the edge of his bed.

"Yeah." Josie said as she pulled out her phone to show him the picture Sophie took of her the night they went clubbing.

"Shit." Conner said with the biggest smile on his face. "My girl's freaking hot."

Josie's smile wasn't nearly as big but it was genuine. "That's what you get when you date a Latina." She said before leaning down to kiss him. "I should be mad at you for asking my mothers not to call me when you were brought in."

"I didn't want to ruin your weekend with Sophie. You were missing her like crazy." Conner said. "You're here now. So it's all good."

They talked about Josie's trip for a little while, and about Conner spending Saturday morning flying model planes with his Dad. They talked about everything but what was lingering in the room between them. Finally Conner took Josie's hand in his and ran a finger over the bracelet he'd given her for her birthday. "Promise me something Josie."

"Don't." Josie said softly. "Conner, please, don't. You're going to be fine."

"Josie." Conner said softly.

Josie shook her head and got off his bed to put a little distance between them. "Don't talk about dying Conner because you're not going to die. The doctors here, the doctors here are gods, Conner. They do the impossible. My Mama, she's a peds god, she saves tiny human lives all the time. She saved my sister's life you know. Sophie was born way, way to early, and my Mama, she made her heart beat. One time this boy was seconds away from dying and she saved his life because she knew he needed a transplant. And another time she asked my Aunt Teddy for help and they totally recycled a pair of lungs for one of Mama's cancer patients. My Mama, she keeps kids who should have died alive, because she's a god, they're all gods, and your not going to die because their gods, and they save lives."

"Josie." Conner said softly. "You're rambling."

"I'm a Robbins." Josie said as she wiped angrily at the tears on her cheeks with the back of her hand. "We do that. Robbins ramble, Torres rant in Spanish, and Sloans charm. I'm all three so I do all three."

"I've noticed." Conner said with a small, warm smile.

"You're not going to die." Josie said firmly.

"Ok." Conner said, not wanting to argue. "But will you do me a favor?"

Josie stepped back over to the bed and sat down on the edge. "What?"

Conner reached behind his neck and unfastened the braided leather necklace he always wore. It had a small Celtic cross on it, with a Claddagh in the center of the cross. The only time Conner ever took it off was for surgery and radiation treatments. He put it around Josie's neck and fastened it. "Wear this for me."

"Conner." Josie choked out.

"Please." Conner said. "Dr. Robbins is Irish right, or partly at least? So, my Irish Latina can wear it for me, it looks good on you."

The house was dark and quiet, its occupants' all asleep, some more peacefully then others. In the master bedroom Arizona slept with her wife's arms wrapped around her, and Callie's warm breath against her neck. The blonde moaned softly when the stillness of their room was disrupted by the blaring intrusion of a pager. Cracking open one eye she looked over at her nightstand to see if it was hers and groaned softly when she saw the soft glow of it's display. It was hers. Reaching for it she peered at it and the message scrolling across its screen. In an instant she was wide-awake and disentangling herself from her wife's warm, safe, embrace.

"Zo?" Callie moaned at the sudden loss of warmth and wife.

"It's Conner." Arizona whispered as she pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt. Arizona had spent the last three weeks using every trick she knew and inventing new ones to keep Conner stable until they could find a familial match who was willing to give him part of their liver and a kidney. Because of his history with cancer the transplant board had refused to put him on the list, so they had to depend on a family member. So far the only match was a material cousin who was currently severing on a submarine and was trying his best to get permission to leave and take the time off required.

Callie sat up. "Zo?"

"I don't know." Arizona said as she looked into her wife's eyes. "Don't say anything. I'll call you when I know more."

"Buenos dias, Mommy." Josie said several hours later as she walked into the kitchen wearing an over sized Miami Heat jersey that her grandfather had given her. She walked over to her mother and kissed her cheek before resting her sleepy head on her Mommy's shoulder.

"Buenos dias, mija." Callie replied as she gave her baby a cuddle before setting a plate with two poached eggs, rye toast with butter and jelly, and three strips of bacon down at the table for her daughter.

"Gracias Mommy." Josie said as she sat down and poured some juice into her glass. "Mama leave for the hospital already?"

Callie nodded as she started making Mac's breakfast. Her son was already up, she'd heard him playing in his room, but he always waited until he heard his sisters come down before coming down himself. "A few hours ago."

It wasn't unusual for one of her mothers to be gone before she was up, so Josie didn't think much about it. After taking a few bites of her food she looked up at her Mommy sweetly. "Mommy…"

"You're going to school Josephine." Callie cut in before Josie could ask. Just about everyday for the last three weeks Josie has asked if she can skip school to sit with Conner. She and Arizona wanted to keep things for Josie as normal as possible, so they always said no. She could sit with him after school. The pout on her daughter's lips, Josie had mastered each of her mothers' pouts and used them with skill on Callie and Arizona; and knowing that Arizona was just about to take Conner into surgery almost made Callie cave in, but what good would it do Josie to sit in the waiting room all day? No, it would be better if she went to school. "Isn't today the day you dissect a piglet in lab? You've been talking about it ever since you found out you were accepted into A.P. Honors Biology."

"Oh yeah!" Josie said as a touch of excitement lit up her eyes. "I get to cut today!"

"You spend to much time with Christina." Callie teased with a shake of her head. "Finish your breakfast, mija, your uniforms are clean and hanging in the laundry room."

Josie had been so excited and distracted by her pending assignment in bio lab that she forgot her phone at home, so she didn't get any of the messages or texts from her mothers telling her to go straight home after school rather then going to the hospital. When they didn't get a reply from Josie, Callie decided she was going to pick her up, but then there was an accident and both she and Arizona were pulled into emergency surgeries. Conner had gone into kidney failure that morning and even though Arizona did everything she possibility could it was just a domino effect from there. Bailey had to actually force Arizona to stop when it was clear that Conner was gone. They didn't want to tell Josie over the phone. They didn't want to pull her out of school. Mark was waiting for her at the house and Callie and Arizona would leave as soon as they got out of their respective surgeries. They three of them would tell her face-to-face so they could be there for her. But Josie never got their messages, she didn't know to head home, so as Arizona was scrubbing out, Josie was making her way up to Conner's room.

"Oh, Doctor Robbins." One of the residents said, startled to see the head of Peds in the scrub room. "I thought you were on the Peds floor."

"I just finished with the little girl from the boating accident this afternoon." Arizona replied.

"Did it go well?" The resident asked.

Arizona nodded. She wasn't in the mood for small talk. She needed to get home to her daughter.

"Good." The resident offered a sad smile. "Will you give Josie my condolences? I saw her walk in as the elevator doors closed."

Arizona's eyes widened. "Josie's here?"

The resident nodded.

"Damnit!" Arizona said as she took off at a run.

Teddy was more then surprised to see Josie heelying down the hallway on the Peds floor. She was at the nurse's desk writing notes on a Peds patient she had with Karev. As soon as she saw her niece's face she knew that Josie didn't know. She rushed towards the girl as the young blonde went right for Conner's now empty room. "Josie don't!"

But she was to late. Josie walked into Conner's room to find it empty, the bed stripped, the monitors' dark, and his things were gone. She stood there just looking at the empty room. It was like he'd never been there, as if he'd been wiped clean, sanitized away.

"Josie." Teddy said as she came up behind her best friend's daughter, her wife's goddaughter, and her niece. "Josie, honey."

"Where's Conner?" Josie asked numbly. "Did they take him down for tests? Is he in surgery again? Is he having dialysis?"

Teddy put her arm around Josie and slowly turned her away from the room, leading her out into the hall. "Come on honey. Lets go find your Moms."

"No." Josie said in a flat, hushed tone as she pulled away from Teddy. She looked at the tall, slender blonde, and blinked once. This wasn't happening. This wasn't real. Just a few seconds ago she was pumped, she was excited, she wanted to tell Conner all about how cool it was to dissect a fetal pig. Now she stood in the hallway of the Peds floor of her family's hospital with her aunt looking at her with sad, sympatric eyes. "No! Where's Conner! Where is he!"

"Josie." Arizona said as she came through the doors. Her heart shattered when she heard her daughter's raised voice before she even opened the doors.

Josie spun around. The look in her Mama's eyes said it all. He was gone. He died. She was at school laughing and feeling great about rocking her assignment, and Conner was here dying. "No! NO!"

"Baby." Arizona said softly as she came closer to her daughter. "I'm so sorry. We did everything…"

"You were supposed to save him!" Josie screamed at her mother. They were drawing looks from the people around them but Josie didn't care. "You were supposed to be gods and pull off the impossible!"

Tears welled in Arizona's eyes as she reached out for her baby girl, but Josie jerked away from her. "Josie, baby, I'm so sorry."

"You killed him!" Josie yelled as she backed away from her mother after pushing her aunt out of the way. "You let him die! You were supposed to save his life! You let him die! I hate you! I hate you!"

The sound of her daughter's voice, the words she was screaming, sent Callie running down the hall as if she were running to a code blue. She came around the corner just in time to see Josie knock Arizona's attempt at touching her away. She watched as if it were slow motion as Josie turned on her heel and ran, only snapping out of it when her fifteen and a half year old brushed past her, knocking into the wall. "Josephine!"

"Josie!" Arizona yelled as tears rolled down her pale cheek. "Josephine!"

Josie had to get out of there. She had to get away from them. She heard her mothers calling after her. She heard Teddy called out her name. She heard her Uncle Alex, and her Aunt Miranda as she barreled past them, but she didn't stop.

Michael Karev was on his way inside to see his Dad when Josie came running out of the hospital. Since the day his mother brought him to Seattle to meet his father when he was four, the same day he'd met four and half year old Josie, the two had been close friends, best friends. But he didn't need to be one of her best friends to see how upset she was. "Josie, what's wrong?" He asked as he stepped in front of her.

Josie looked at Michael and blinked twice before saying, "I need to get out of here. I need to get away."

"Ok." Michael said without question or hesitation. If she needed to run from whatever had her so upset, and he had a pretty good idea what that was, he'd help her run. He took hold of her arm as he scanned the parking lot. Spotting his Dad's Range Rover he nodded to himself. "Ok, lets go." He lead her over to the SUV and used the spare key his Dad had given him to unlock the door and helped her in before hopping into the driver's seat. His Dad had started teaching him to drive a year ago so he had no problem backing out of the space and leaving the parking lot. As he drove away from the hospital he watched Josie closely out of the corner of his eye. She seemed numb, in shock, while tears just poured down her face. He wasn't sure what to do so he just drove. It wasn't until she told him Conner died that he knew what to do.

"I can't find her anywhere." Callie said as she joined her wife and their friends. It had taken Callie and Arizona several seconds before they were able to move after Josie ran off. Josie had never blow up like that they were both in shock. By the time they were able to shake it off and go after her she was gone.

"Where could she have gone in just a few seconds?" Arizona asked as she tried not to tremble out of fear, concern, and anger.

"She knows this hospital better then any of us." Teddy said gently.

Addison nodded in agreement. "She just needs space. She needs to process what just happened."

"Who needs space?" Kepner asked as she walked up looking for Addison.

"Have you seen my kid?" Callie asked gruffly.

Kepner frowned at the tone of the older doctor's tone. "Josie? Yeah, I saw her outside with Michael Karev as I was coming in. They were leaving in Alex's car."

"They're fifteen!" Arizona yelled. "They can't drive!"

Callie decided not to mention that her father had been teaching Josie to drive since she was twelve. Instead she put her arm around Arizona's shoulders. She could feel her wife relax almost instantly. Mark on the other hand.

"Karev!" Mark barked when he saw the younger man walking down the hall. He stormed over to the other doctor, shoving him into a wall. "Where the hell did your kid take my kid?"

Alex blinked. "Dude, what the hell are you talking about?"

With Callie's hand in her own, Arizona was a lot calmer as she explained. "Josie found out about Conner and took off. April said she saw her and Michael get into your car and drive off, but she's wrong, isn't she. Michael couldn't just take off with your car could he?"

"He can drive and he has keys." Alex said as he pulled out his phone to call his son. "Dude, where are you? This isn't cool, man. Call me."

Michael had ignored his phone each time it rang. The only things on his mind was driving and getting Josie to someone who he knew could help. With no traffic Seattle to Portland took a little over three hours. Michael made it in two. Pulling up in front of the apartment complex he helped her out of the Range Rover. She'd told him what happened, about finding Conner's room empty and her Mom telling her he was dead, but that was it. The rest of the time she just sat there silently crying. With his arm around her waist they headed into the building and up to the top floor. He used his key to let himself in and then called out, "Mom! Mom!"

Izzie Stevens was more then a little surprised to hear her son's voice. He was in Seattle with his Dad, or at least he was supposed to be in Seattle with his Dad. She and Alex shared custody of Michael and because Alex, with Arizona's help, had been able to get Michael into the same upscale private school Josie went too, Michael spent most of the school year with his Dad. Izzie drove up to spend weekends with him, or he came to Portland to spend holidays and breaks with her. So yeah, Izzie was more then a little surprised as she stepped out of her kitchen and into her living room to not only find her son but Josie Torres as well. "Michael? What are you doing here?"

"Help her?" Michael asked, his hazel eyes begging his mother to do something. "Please Mom. Help her."

"What happened?" Izzie asked as she rushed over to the two teens.

Michael told her about Josie and Conner and about Conner dying. He told her about finding Josie running out of the hospital and her asking him to get her away. It meant a lot to Izzie to hear her son tell her that the only thing he could think of to do to help his friend was to bring Josie to her. "Michael, do her parents know where she is? Does you Dad know where you are?"

Michael shook his head. "I think he's been calling but I didn't want to be on the phone while I was driving. I don't even a learning permit yet and I was on the high way."

"We'll talk about that later." Izzie said firmly. "Go put on some water for tea, make the tea strong and sweet." Turning to Josie, who she'd walked to the couch and sat down, Izzie smiled. "It'll be ok, sweetie. I know it doesn't seem like it right now. Right now everything feels like it's wrapped up in prickly cotton balls, all numb and stinging. But it will be ok."

"Michael where the hell are you?" Alex yelled into his cell without bothering to look at the caller id.

"He's with me." Izzie said. "So is Josie and they're fine. I'll have them both home in a couple of hours."

Alex sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "He drove her all the way to Portland? I'm going to kill him."

"He wanted to help his friend, Alex." Izzie said calmly. "So he brought her to someone who understands, someone he trusts. You know how much he cares about her."

"Is she alright?" Alex asked. She was his goddaughter and he loved her. He was actually more worried about her then about Michael taking off with her. Alex knew his son would do anything for Josie, he trusted Michael with her, but Josie was in bad shape. He wanted to see her for himself just as much as her folks did.

Izzie sighed softly. "She was in shock when they got here but she's doing alright now. She isn't laid out on my bathroom floor or anything, so that's good. We're going to talk and I'm going to bring them home. Let Callie know, ok?"

"Yeah, ok." Alex said. "I'm still kicking his ass. Tell him to call me."

When Izzie walked back into the living room from her bedroom she found her son sitting beside his best friend and for a moment it made her think of herself and George, and then of herself and Alex. She hoped that Michael and Josie had a better out come then she'd had with her best friend and the man she never stopped loving. "Mikey, go for walk, and call your Dad."

"Mom." Michael started to protest.

"Go." Izzie said firmly. "Trust me, Mikey, just go, I'll call you to come back in a few."

Michael looked between his Mom and Josie and then nodded.

Once they were alone Izzie sat beside Josie, just where he son had been a moment ago, and smiled at the girl as she brushed at Josie's hair. Josie had her hands wrapped around a mug of tea and was looking a little better. The strong, sweet, hot tea had shaken her out of her shock a bit. Izzie held out a bar of chocolate to help a little more. "Eat some of this. It'll help."

Josie nodded and took the chocolate. "Thanks."

"Feeling better?" Izzie asked the younger blonde.

"Yes, thank you." Josie replied as she nibbled on a square of chocolate while staring into the depths of her tea.

"Have you ever heard about Denny Duquette?" Izzie asked after a few minutes passed and a little more color returned to Josie's cheeks.

Josie looked up. "The guy the clinic's named after?"

Izzie nodded. "Yeap, him."

"Not really." Josie admitted.

"Well," Izzie said as she rubbed circles on Josie's back. "Denny was a heart patient who came to Seattle Grace needing a heart transplant. I was an intern, he was my patient, and I feel in love with him."

"Portland!" Callie yelled in the middle of her living room as she glared at Alex. "Mi hija esta en Portland! Con Izzie Stevens de toda la gentel!"

Alex looked passed the angry ortho surgeon, who continued to rant in Spanish, to a quietly fuming peds surgeon. "What did she say?"

"I said!" Callie barked, causing Alex to look at her again. "What the hell is my daughter doing in fucking Portland with Izzie fucking Stevens?"

"More or less." Arizona added.

"Michael took her to someone who could understand how she feels." Alex replied. "Iz said she'd bring them home soon. She wanted a chance to talk to Josie first. He took her to Iz because of Denny."

"So after all that he died because of a blood clot?" Josie asked as tears rolls down her cheeks. She hadn't really stopped since the hospital; they just lessened or worsened depending on her state of mind.

Izzie nodded as she handed Josie some water. "It formed on his sutures and traveled up to his brain, causing a stroke. It's rare, but it happens."

"Chemo was suppose to make Conner better." Josie said sadly. "It was suppose to help keep the cancer from coming back. Instead it destroyed his liver, and his kidneys."

"And then it just went down hill from there." Izzie said knowingly. "I know. Before Mikey was born I had cancer, and I knew a young woman who chemo was suppose to save, but it killed her too."

Josie looked at Izzie for a few seconds before blurting out. "You're twenties sucked." Then she covered her mouth in embarrassment. "Oh I'm so sorry!"

Izzie laughed. "It's ok, you're right, my twenties did kind of suck sometimes."

Josie relaxed when Izzie laughed. She was quiet for a few moments and then asked, "What did you do? When he died?"

"I broke." Izzie said honestly. "I laid down beside his body and couldn't move. I broke, and my friends were there to pick up the pieces. They were there in the room with me, George, Meredith, Christina, even your Mom, and Alex. Alex literally picked me up off the bed so they could take his body. I spent days laying on Mere's bathroom floor in a prom dress, weeks walking around in a fog, baking. But, eventually, the grief and the sadness passed and I picked myself up, and I went on with my life, and things got better. I got to love a wonderful man and I got to have a wonderful son, and things got better."

"Do you still think about him, Denny, do you still remember him?" Josie asked.

Izzie nodded. "Yeah, I do, and now it doesn't hurt to remember him. Denny was a part of my life, just like Conner will always be a part of yours."

It was well past midnight, nearly one in the morning, when the front door creaked open. Both Callie and Arizona jumped to their feet. Arizona's eyes were red and swollen from crying. Part of her understood that Josie was just lashing out because of the flood of emotion she was being washed away in, but a bigger part of her was totally crushed by her daughter's words. Never; never had one of her children ever told her they hated her. In that moment Arizona couldn't breath, her heart wouldn't beat, her whole world stopped spinning. It was hard enough on Arizona to loose Conner because he was her patient, but to have her daughter blame her for it, it just made it so much worse.

Stepping into the house Josie looked at her mothers as they looked at her. She stood at the door for several long seconds. For the first time in her life she was unsure about what to do when it came to her mothers. She felt awful about what she said to her Mama, about running away the way she did. A few seconds passed, then Josie saw her Mama take a tentative step towards her, and that's all it took. She rushed to her Mama and cried when Arizona wrapped her arms about her and held her for dear life.

Callie let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding when she watched her wife engulf their daughter in her arms as Josie cried. Turning to the tall blonde standing by her door she gave Izzie a warm smile, but the smile faded a little when Michael peeked around his mother.

"Aunt Callie…"

"Don't Aunt Callie me Michael." Callie warned. "I appreciate what you were doing and I'm grateful that it helped, but you shouldn't have helped her run from us like that." Slightly scolding brown eyes lingered on the boy for a few more seconds before Callie looked at Izzie with a much softer expression. "Thank you Izzie."

"Your welcome." Izzie replied. "I'd better get him home."

Josie wasn't aware of anything but being held by her Mama and the gentle whispered words that Arizona was saying to her to calm her down. She clung to her Mama a little longer before finally saying, "I'm so sorry Mama. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry. I know you did everything you could, and I don't hate you, I could never hate you, Mama. I'm so sorry."

"I know, deep down I knew, you didn't mean it baby." Arizona said as she pulled back a little so she could hold her daughter's face in her hands.

"I hurt you." Josie said softly as fresh tears welled in her eyes. She could see it in her Mama's eyes. She could see that her careless words had hurt her Mama. "I'm sorry, Mama. I didn't mean…"

"I know baby girl." Arizona said as she kissed her daughter's forehead. "I know." She repeated before kissing her nose, and then pulling her close for another hug.

Callie walked over to her wife and their daughter and gently ran her hand down Josie's hair before resting it on her daughter's back. She needed physical contact with her little girl to easy her mind, to really realize that Josie was ok. Or at least home, and safe, because Callie didn't think she was ok, not just yet she wasn't. Her thoughts kept drifting back to how she felt when George died, so she knew Josie was far from ok.

For the first time since she was thirteen and watched IT at a slumber party, Josie slept snuggled between her mothers in their bed. She had no choice but to sleep. She had been drained physically as well as emotionally. Like her Mama, when her emotions washed over her like crashing waves against the sand, Josie had nightmares. Sleeping with her mothers gave them a chance to sooth away the bad dreams before they could fully take hold, but the next night Josie woke up three times in a cold sweat. She hadn't gotten to say good-bye, and she hadn't let Conner say good-bye. Each time she'd woken up she'd reached for her phone to send him a text, but then just before sending it she realized he wasn't there to get the text, and she'd cry herself back to sleep.

Her lack of sleep and her lack of appetite were really starting to worry her parents. They were hoping that Conner's funeral would help Josie start to heal and move on. Josie was sitting on her bed, dressed in a black dress and stockings, with Conner's necklace in her hands. She was running her finger over the cross; debating on wither she should put it on. Since Conner put it on her she hadn't taken it off other then to shower, and until now she hadn't hesitated to put it back on afterwards.

"Hey pea." Mark said as he knocked on his daughter's open bedroom door.

Josie looked up and wiped the tears off her cheeks as she smiled weakly at her Daddy. Ever since she was a baby he'd called her his sweet pea, or pea for short.

"You should wear it." Mark said as he walked over and sat on the edge of Josie's bed. He took the necklace from her hands and put it around her neck. "He'd want you too." He gave Josie a loving smile before leaning in and kissing her forehead. "Are you ready to go?"

Josie shrugged. "I guess so."

"You need to go, Josie." Mark said softly as he brushed her hair off her shoulder. "You need to say good-bye."

"I should have done that at the hospital." Josie replied as she looked up into her Dad's eyes. "Mommy should have let me go to the hospital that day. I should have been there." Her emotions were on a roller coaster. One minute she was angry with her Mommy for not letting her skip school the day Conner died. Then she was angry with herself for not letting Conner say what he wanted to say all those times he tried to say it. She felt guilty for not being there when Conner died, for being at school enjoying herself while her Mama fought to save his life. Her Aunt Miranda had told her about what happened in the OR and that just made Josie feel even worse about how she'd behaved that day.

"Everything that happened; happened the way it was meant too." Mark said. "You can't keep dwelling on it, Josie."

Josie sighed. "I know."

Mark didn't know what else to say. He, Callie and Arizona had been talking themselves blue in the face, but it was up to Josie to listen, and to deal with her emotions. So instead of repeating himself for the hundredth time he just pulled his daughter into his arms and held her.

"I'm not really sure what to say." Josie said softly as she stood in front of everyone. She wasn't really looking at anyone, she just stood there, the Rosary her Abuela have her clutched in her left hand. "Mrs. Davis said I didn't have to say anything publicly, I could say good-bye privately, but everyone was sharing memories and I couldn't stop remembering my own. Conner forced me to listen to the Beatles, because he knew I'd like them, even though my Aunt Teddy had been trying for years to get me to listen to them. Conner's puppy dog eyes were better, plus he high jacked my iPod. That was ok though, because I forced him to listen to show tunes. He liked it when I sang, and I knew that when I did he forgot in the moment to feel like crap, so I'd sing. I got him to laugh by singing and play out Diva's Lament from Spamalot, and I even sang all the songs from Wicked to him once during a really long chemo treatment. We liked doing a lot of stuff together, we liked just spending time together, but Conner really liked when I sang. So, I thought I'd sing, if that's ok."

Callie and Arizona sat in the pew watching as their little girl sang For Good with tears rolling down the faces. Even Mark was teary eyed. At the cemetery Josie was left alone to say good-bye. Her mothers watched as Piper gave her an envelope and then hugged her.

"Are you ok baby?" Arizona asked when Josie finally made her way over to them.

"Can we just go home?" Josie asked.

Callie nodded. "Of course baby. Come on."

"You have to read it." Sophie said as she sat with her sister on Josie's bed. "You need to finally let him say good-bye."

"Will you stay with me?" Josie asked as she looked up at her sister who flew home just to be there for her during Conner's funeral.

Sophie nodded and moved a little closer.

_Josie, _

_You wouldn't let me say good-bye, you wouldn't let me say much of anything when it came to me dying, and I get it, I do. I don't want to face it either. I guess if you're reading this we didn't have much choice but to face it. I only have a couple of things to say, and I'm going to say them. I'm really glad I sucked at Spanish. I really love the taste of Dr. Pepper lip-gloss. Even manly men can like musicals. So many places, so many charms. My girlfriend's totally hot, and she's going to be an amazing person, a rockstar, and a badass surgical goddess. I was trippin' on sunshine. I was happy. My life was good. I want that for you now Josie. Be happy. Live a wonderful life. Thank you for being in mine. _

_I love you. _

_Conner. _

Her time with Conner almost felt like a dream but the pain of missing him let her know it had been real. And despite how much it hurt, how much she missed him, she wouldn't go back and change a thing. He was a part of her life the way George O'Malley had been a part of her Mommy's, the way Denny had been for Doctor Stevens, the way her Aunt Teddy's friend who died on 9-11 had been a part of her life, even the way her Uncle Tim had been part of her Mama's. Her heart had its first scar and she would wear it like a badge of honor, just like the women she looked up too did with their heart scars. Josie would always remember Conner, and a part of her would always love him. You never really get over your first love.


	22. Age Sixteen: First Taste of Freedom

It was rare for Arizona Robbins-Torres to get the house to herself, her son Mac was on a play date, her wife and their daughter Josie were out running errands and getting Josie some time behind the wheel, Sophie was off living her own life in college, and she was taking advantage of the peace and quiet. She had the windows of the house she and Callie built together open because even though it was raining softly it was warm out, and she loved the smell of rain. After Teddy had picked up Mac, Arizona curled up on the couch to watch one of her favorite guilty pleasure movies, and was now dozing to the silence. She was nearly asleep when she heard the slamming of car doors and then her wife's and daughter's voices drifting through the open windows. It sounded as if they were arguing which caused Arizona to sit up just as the door swung open.

"You were making me nervous, Mommy!" Josie complained as she and Callie walked in carrying shopping bags from the mall and Target. Arizona and Callie had agreed with Sophie that it was better to have the girls drive with a purpose rather then just aimlessly driving around Seattle, so Josie was driving them around on errands and such to practice her driving. "It isn't easy to drive with you sitting there yelling at me in Spanish!"

"I wasn't yelling!" Callie huffed and then muttered something in Spanish about life insurance and mothering teenagers.

Arizona couldn't help but giggle. Four months before her sixteenth birthday, the legal age she could be in Washington state, Josie had asked to get her learner's permit and take the state required driver's safety class so she could start leaning to drive as soon as she turned sixteen. Now Arizona and Callie were taking turns taking her out so she could get the fifty hours of supervised driving she needed to get her license.

"You're still yelling!" Josie argued, hands on hips.

"You weren't listening!" Callie argued back, hand on one hip, the other waving about. "I said easy on the brake not try and give me whiplash!"

Josie rolled her eyes. Arizona giggled again.

"And who taught you how to muscle someone out of a parking space like that?" Callie demanded.

"We were waiting on that spot!" Josie said as she handed bags to her Mama. "She was the one who was trying to muscle in, I was defending our claim!"

Callie threw her hands up and once again began to vent in Spanish.

"So," Arizona said with yet another giggle. "Errands went well?"

Josie just huffed as she walked out to get the dry cleaning. Callie turned to look at her wife with a glare. "You're taking her next time and you're doing the ten hours of night driving! It was so easy with Sophie, but that one, that one drives like my father!"

"So she drives like you?" Arizona teased.

Callie glared at her wife as her nostrils flared. As soon as Josie came back with the rest of the stuff from the car she and Callie were at it again. Arizona finally had to step in. "Ok you two knock it off. Calliope, sit down and take a deep breath. Josephine, go play left for portal duty fifteen or whatever game you're playing at the moment and chill. You two clearly need a little space from each other."

Both Josie and Callie rolled their eyes at Arizona's attempt at teasing them over their video games, but Josie did head off towards the family room while Callie settled on the couch. Arizona slipped into the kitchen and then came back with a glass of red wine. "I know it's a little early but…"

Callie didn't give her wife a chance to finish. She happily took the glass of wine and downed it before sighing and leaning back into the couch. After a few minutes a soft smile broke out on the Latina's face.

"What are you smiling about?" Arizona asked as she sat, cuddled, next to her wife.

"Josie is finally starting to act like herself again." Callie said with relief in her voice. Josie had been depressed and withdrawn after Conner's death and Callie and Arizona were starting to worry about her. Thankfully for the last few weeks their daughter was finally starting to act like herself again.

"Did she go into the hospital with you?" Arizona asked hopefully.

Callie sighed softly, her smile melting away. "No, she's still refusing to set foot in the hospital."

Josie hadn't been inside the hospital since the day Conner died and she stormed out after screaming at Arizona. The child psychologist that Arizona worked with from time to time had said the hospital would probably be the final threshold of Josie's grieving, that when she was really, truly ready to move on from that part of her life, she'd come back to the hospital. Both Arizona and Callie were waiting for that moment with the same calm impatience they'd felt when they had been waiting for her to walk, and talk, and go to her first day of school. This felt like just as big a milestone as those other things because in a way it was another rite of passage in their daughter's journey to growing up.

"I don't know if Miranda will be able to hold her spot in the summer program much longer." Arizona said as she played absentmindedly with her wife's fingers.

"She'll hold it." Callie said with confidence. "She adores Josie and knows how much working in the hospital means to her. She just needs a little more time."

"Mommy!" Josie yelled several minutes later from the family room. "Granddad's online!" And just like that the fight between mother and daughter was over, forgiven and forgotten. "He brought his Marine buddies!"

A huge grin appeared on Callie face. "Coming!"

"Hey!" Arizona protested as her wife disentangled from her and got off the couch. "Where are you going?"

"To slaughter rabid vampire Nazis with our daughter while kicking your Dad's team's ass." Callie said before heading to the family room.

Arizona pouted. "I can't believe you two turned my elderly father into a gamer! And that your leaving me to go play with him!"

There was laughter in response to her protest before Josie called out. "Mama! We need snacks and Dew, please! It's going to be a long hard battle!"

Callie was standing at the main nurses' station on the first floor looking over her surgeries for the afternoon when a cup of cocoa was suddenly slid in front of her. She couldn't help but smile as she looked up to meet the blue-gray eyes of her best friend. "Juju cocoa?"

"I lost a mother and her baby this morning." Addison replied sadly. Her eyes were rimmed in pink, which meant she'd been crying earlier, which was most likely the reason Arizona couldn't get a hold of Teddy for coffee. "And this afternoon you're helping me use your cartilage neonatally for the first time, and you're probably freaking out about Josie. So, yes, we're all in need of some good juju."

"Why would I be freaking out about Josie?" Callie asked as she sipped from the paper cup.

Addison looked at her friend oddly. "Because she's here in the hospital for the first time sense Conner died."

Callie choked on the cocoa she was swallowing. "What?"

"I saw her in the lecture hall with the other high school students working the junior internship program." Addison explained as she continued to look at her friend oddly. "Today was the first orientation and final evolution. You didn't know she was coming in?"

"We had no idea." Callie said as her shock slowly turned into relief. "When Arizona and I asked her about it last night she jumped down our throats."

"Well, she must have made up her mind because she was standing there talking to some of the other kids while they waited on Bailey to start her, 'This is a six week, intensive program for gifted high school students who are medically and scientifically minded.' speech." Addison said with a soft smile. "I'm sure if you hurry you could catch them coming out of the hall just in time for the hospital tour."

Callie pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Arizona telling her to meet her by the lecture hall. Then she snatched up her cocoa and walked away from the desk without saying a word to Addison, who just laughed at her friend as she nearly ran in the direction of her daughter.

"Seattle Grace – Mercy West is ranked third in the U.S. when it comes to teaching hospitals, with John Hopkins and Columba being first and second respectfully." Bailey was saying as she led the group of twenty soon to be high school juniors and seniors out of the lecture hall and into the hallway. "We're the number one hospital in the Pacific Northwest, in the top five for the west coast as a whole, and top ten nation wide. Our Neonatal, Orthopedic, Pediatric, Cardiothoracic, and Neuro departments are world-renowned, and all of our departments are headed by world class, award winning surgeons."

Josie couldn't help but beam as her aunt spoke. Those surgeons were her parents, aunts, and uncles. She was extremely proud of them. As she listened and they began to walk she felt a little more at ease about being back in the hospital. It had in no way been easy for her to walk through the front doors that morning. In fact she'd stood outside for a half an hour before she actually walked in. She needed that time alone outside to put everything behind her so she could move forward. Once she was ready walking through the front doors and into the main lobby was like coming home again for Josie, and it felt good to be home.

"She didn't say a word this morning." Arizona whispered as she and Callie watched their daughter as she moved along the tour with her new classmates.

"She probably didn't know herself until the decision was made." Callie replied.

Arizona nodded. "I am beyond thrilled to see her here."

"Relieved, thrilled, proud." Callie said as she began to beam.

During the lunch break Josie sat with a group of kids she'd made quick friends with. They were all talking about what they'd heard and seen so far and how excited they were about the program. One of the girls kept getting distracted and finally spoke up. "Maybe I'm just use to being the nerdy geek who everyone points and whispers and laughs at, but I swear those doctors over at that table over there, are staring at us and whispering."

Josie looked up to see whom Jamie was talking about and sighed when she caught her mothers duck their heads. "They're not staring at us. They're staring at me."

"Why would they be staring at you?" Aaron asked as he too looked up.

"Guess I couldn't keep it a secret forever." Josie muttered before explaining. "The blonde with the Heidi braids and the Latina next to her are my mothers. The redhead and the other blonde are their best friends."

There was a long moment of silence before Aaron asked, "So the hot one is your step-mom? And she and your Mom are like friends?"

Josie blinked and then shook her head. "No, they're both my mothers. They're married." Josie was use to explaining her family to people so it didn't bother her. She did however frown at Aaron. "And they're both hot thankyouverymuch and stop checking them out. They're my Moms and that's creepy."

"They're lesbians?" Greg asked, as he looked them over again now that Aaron had brought his attention to the women. "You're moms are pretty hot, Josie, ya know, for moms and all."

Josie rolled her eyes but smirked a little too. Her moms were hot, for their ages, and there was nothing wrong with taking pride in the fact that they were. After all it meant she had good genes and would still be a looker when she was old too.

"So," Aaron said as he looked between Josie and his mother. "I guess the blonde's your real mom though right?"

Josie was starting to dislike Aaron. "They're both my real moms."

"But you look like the blonde." Aaron said. "So she's the one who had you so that would make her your real mom."

Josie sighed and shook her head. "Look, they are both my real mothers. I look like my Mama because she's my biological mother, but she isn't the one who gave birth to me, my Mom did." Pushing her chair away from the table Josie added, "Excuse me a moment."

"Oh crap." Callie said as she tried not to look as if they'd just been busted. "Here she comes."

All four women plastered innocent looking smiles on their faces as Josie walked up to the table but she could tell they knew they were so totally busted. Walking up to the table she crossed her arms and gave them each a soft glare. "I know me being here is surprising. I know how worried you've all be about me. But I'm fine, and more then ready to get on with things, and that includes being in this program. What I need you all to do is stop staring at me because you're making the people around me nervous."

"Sorry sweetheart." Arizona said with a bright smile. "Mommy and I are just glad to see you back, that's all."

"I know." Josie said as she relaxed her stance. "But I'm ok, I promise."

Callie nodded. "We can see that mija. We'll stop, we promise. Go back and join your friends and good luck on your final eval. We'll see you at home."

Josie nodded and kissed both of her mothers, and both of her aunts, on the cheek before heading back over to the table where she'd left her lunch. Aaron hadn't been able to figure out what Josie had meant and Jamie had had to fill him in which caused the table to laugh. After lunch the kids were lead to one of the classrooms to be evaluated to see where best to be placed. They would find out which programs they would get to work on their first official day. Not every doctor was meant to be a surgeon and not every medical career meant you had to be a doctor, but Josie knew where she belonged, and she had every confidence that her test scores and evals would prove it. She was feeling so good that she even stopped at the market on her way home, despite still being forced to relay on public transit for a few more weeks, to pick up some things so she could make dinner for her mothers and brother.

The rhythmic sounds of horns, drums, and guitars filled the house as Callie and Arizona stepped inside. Cuban music blasted from the sound system while a wonderfully spicy smell wafted from the kitchen and mingled with the barbeque smell that had engulfed them when they pulled into the drive. A huge smile appeared on Callie's face as she hung up her jacket and then took Arizona's to hang as well. Then she took her wife's hand as they made their way to the kitchen, and her smile only got bigger at the sight before them. Mac was sitting at the center island using a fork to crimp closed pastry dough, his little tongue sticking out as he concentrated on his task, while Josie stood in front of the stove tending several pots. Both of their children were moving to the music while Josie sang along. The two women watched for a little while before Callie finally spoke up to let them know they were home. "Well this is a wonderful surprise."

Mac's head jerked up and he smiled brightly. "Hi Moms!"

Josie on the other had yelped in surprise, which caused her mothers to laugh. "That's why you shouldn't have the music so loud. You can't hear people come in." Arizona teased as she picked up the remote to turn the volume down.

Josie rolled her eyes as her Mommy came over to see what she was cooking. She gave a little shrug at the questioning look her Mommy gave her. "I was in a good mood and thought I'd be nice."

Callie smiled as she kissed her daughter's forehead. "It all smells wonderful mija."

"How did your afternoon go?" Arizona asked.

"Good, I think." Josie answered. "I'm really excited about this. Not just because it'll be my first real taste of what it'll be like to be a med student, but because I get to help out with Aunt Miranda's pilot program."

"Are you sure about this Josie?" Arizona asked as she took the bottle of Spanish beer Callie was handing her.

Josie nodded. Unlike some of her SGMW cousins, her parents had never pushed her towards anything when it came to career choices. Derek tended to push his kids in that direction, and her Aunt Christina was pretty much demanding it of hers, but her parents just wanted them to find something that they were passionate about, something they really wanted to do. Josie had taken a natural liking to science and she was good at it. "It's what I want, Mama."

"Ok." Arizona said as she hopped onto the bar stool next to her son. Her smile was teasing and mischievous as she said, "This will look really good on your application to Johns Hopkins."

"Mama!" Josie scolded as she pointed a wooden spoon at her mother. Her parents didn't push when it came to careers but they had no problem making their feelings known on schools. Her Mama had done her undergrad at Boston College and medical school at Johns Hopkins. Her Mommy was suppose to go to Cornell because they had the country's best hotel and business programs, but after her time in the Peace Corps and deciding she wanted to go to medical school she did U Penn undergrad and Harvard Medical. Her Dad, being the true New Yorker at heart that he is, had done NYU before following Derek to Yale. And those were just the school she heard about from the people she was actually related too! Her aunts and uncles all had their own options to voice. "No active campaigning until my senior year."

"Yeah Arizona." Callie teased. "Maybe by then Hopkins will edge closer to number one Harvard."

Josie narrowed her eyes. "Mommy." She warned as she shifted the spoon so it was pointing at Callie. "Geesh, I have to pick an undergrad program before I pick a medical school. Chill women."

Both Callie and Arizona held up their hands in surrender and then laughed. It was so good to see Josie being Josie again. After dinner Callie decided to treat everyone to ice cream and even let Josie drive.

It had been a long couple of weeks for Arizona. She had caught a pretty rough case in the ER that took her nearly a month to see any kind of positive results with. It had been exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time, and Arizona was really starting to feel the burn out. She hated being reminded that she was getting older and to comfort herself, though it might have been a little mean, she found herself thinking that at least she didn't have gray hair the way Callie was starting too. It paid to be a blonde when it came to matters of gray hair. Of course whenever this thought-crossed Arizona's mind it inevitably made her feel guilty, which lead to apology sex, and even though Callie could never figure out why Arizona was apologizing she never complained about it. Of course Callie had her own little mean comforts, like reminding herself that Arizona's fair complexion and almost constant smiling had lead to laugh lines and what would become crows feet.

Stepping out their front door Arizona paused to take in the sounds, smells and feel of an early summer Sunday morning. She had had three days off, which she desperately needed to recharge just enough to get her through the month before they took off for their family vacation, and was taking the moment to just soak it all in before going back to work tomorrow. There was a bright, warm smile on Arizona's face as she thought about spending Friday night and most of Saturday with her kids, going out on a long over due date with her wife last night, and being awaken early this morning by her stunningly beautiful Calliope to make love as the sun rose. Arizona gave a contented little sigh as she finally opened her eyes and bent over to pick up their Sunday paper. When she stood up her eyes caught sight of something in the driveway for the first time. Moving a little closer to get a better look Arizona blinked her sparkling blue eyes at what she saw. There was a brand new tango mango orange jeep wrangler with an impossibly huge bow on it sitting in their driveway. It took several seconds for Arizona to connect the dots. Josie had passed her driver's test on Friday and was now a licenses driver, so of course the car she'd been eyeing for months would magically appear in their driveway less then forty-eight hours later. "Calliope!"

Callie had just come out of the kitchen with coffee after putting a pan of cinnamon rolls in the oven when she heard her wife scream her name. It wasn't the kind of scream that would send Callie into a panic, but it let her know something was up. "What is it? What's wrong?" She asked as she stepped out the door and walked over to her wife. "Zo?"

"He bought her a car." Arizona huffed as she pointed to the jeep. "You're father bought our daughter a car."

Callie blinked before looking up to see the jeep. "Of course he did. This surprises you? He bought Sophie a car, he bought Josie car, and when it's his turn he'll buy Mac a car."

Arizona huffed again. It wasn't so much that Carlos had bought Josie a car, she'd expected that after Sophie, it was more about what the jeep stood for. It was another reminder that her little mini-me, her Tiny Torres, wasn't that bright and bubbly little girl zooming around the hospital on heelys while sucking down a milkshake anymore. She was a bright and bubbly sixteen year old who zoomed around the hospital on heelys sucking down mocha lattes after driving there in her own brand new stinking jeep wrangler.

Callie was trying really hard not to laugh at the adorable look on her wife's face, while fighting the urge to cry at the latest reminder that her babies weren't babies anymore. "Same agreement we had with Sophie?"

"Of course." Arizona said with another long sigh.

Stepping closer to her wife Callie wrapped the blonde up in her arms and pulled her close before kissing her neck. "Come on. Lets have our coffee and look through the paper while we still have some peace and quiet."

"Ok." Arizona said softly as she let Callie pull her back into the house.

About an hour later a sleepy looking Josie finally came down the stairs. Her dirty blonde hair was thrown up in a messy ponytail and she was still in her Mama's Baltimore Orioles t-shirt and a pair of Hello Kitty lounge shorts. Josie was always wearing one of her mothers t-shirts to bed. She'd started when she was little whenever one of them had to work over night, it helped her fall asleep on the night when both of her moms weren't safe at home with her. Walking over to the couch where her mothers were cuddling she forced them apart just enough to fit herself between them. Once she was comfy and snuggly between her moms she closed her eyes with a little yawn as if to go back to sleep.

There was a bright beaming smile on Callie's face as she put her arm around her little girl. The sight of her wife snuggling their baby made Arizona's heart flutter. "Good morning sweet girl." Arizona said as she reached out to rub Josie's back. She laughed at the groggy mumbled reply. Looking up at her wife she said, "She gets that from you."

Callie laughed. "We can't all be morning people like you and your son."

As if on cue Mac came bouncing in through the siding doors. "Chickens are all feed Mama."

"Thank you buddy." Arizona said brightly. "Go get washed up now, ok? I think we may be heading out soon if you're sister ever wakes up enough to look out the front window."

Josie muttered something, the only word that was clear enough to understand was window, and it was in Spanish.

Callie laughed. "Get up, stop squishing me and your Mama, and look out the window to find out why you should look out the window."

This time what was mumbled was something about being comfy and warm.

Since his sister wasn't going to get up and look Mac was going too. Mac's eyes lit up when he saw his sister's gift. Running over to the couch he started pulling at Josie. "Jo-Jo, you have to see! It's super awesome!"

Josie groaned. "You're touching me with dirty chicken hands."

Mac giggled as he pulled on his sister until she was standing and then drug her sleepy self over to the large front window. Josie wished she hadn't stayed up half the night skypeing with Ethan and Lillian. She'd been so busy with the junior internship program starting she hadn't had any time to hang with her cousins, so they stayed up late talking and planning a day trip to Half Moon Bay to do some surfing.

Callie and Arizona stood and watched as their son pulled back the curtain so Josie could see what was in the driveway. They marveled at how their sleepy baby went from groggy to squealing in shear excitement and delight in a fraction of a second. Callie laughed as Josie rubbed her eyes as if she were seeing things and then started jumping up and down while wiggling and punching the air.

"I think she likes her Abuelo's gift." Arizona said with a teasing laugh as her baby girl nearly ripped the door from its hinges to get out to her new jeep.

"Ya think?" Callie asked with a laugh as they followed their kids outside just in time to see Josie doing the trademark Robbins happy dance while circling the jeep. Once her daughter was calmer Callie said, "Josie, we need to talk about Abuelo's gift."

Josie nodded with the biggest grin on her face. She followed her mothers inside and while Mac was upstairs getting showered and dressed for the day the three of them settled in at the kitchen table.

"Josephine," Callie began, using her daughter's full name so she knew this was serious business. "There will be rules and guidelines for the car. Since I have no doubt that your Abuelo has covered the insurance for the foreseeable future, you won't have to worry about that. But, you will be responsible for gas, maintenance and upkeep. I'll teach you what you need to know about the basics, but there are other responsibilities you'll have to keep up with."

"Ok." Josie said with a nod.

"The moment you get behind the wheel you're cell phone becomes nonexistent." Arizona added in. "You'll sync it with the Bluetooth system but even that's to be used sparingly. No long drawn out conversations while you're driving." Arizona locked eyes with her daughter as she continued. "And until you get more real road experience no more then one passenger at a time unless you have an adult with you."

"Mama." Josie began to whine but was quickly cut off.

Callie shook her head. "Having friends in the car with a new driver is just as distracting as talking on the phone or eating or singing along to the radio."

"You sing to the radio." Josie pointed out.

"And I've been driving for well over thirty years too." Callie replied back.

Josie sighed. There was no point in arguing because she knew she'd lose. "Ok, fine."

"That car might be yours but it's not really yours." Arizona said. When she got a confused look from her daughter she explained. "You're a sixteen year old kid, Josie. That car and driving, they're privileges not rights."

"You still have to ask before going off someplace." Callie jumped in. "We still need to know where you are; times, places, people, none of that changes just because you can get around without asking to use one of our cars. You still need permission to drive, even if it is your car."

"And since that car and driving are privileges that make them far game for consideration when it comes to punishments." Arizona said when it was her turn. "So keep that in mind."

Callie nodded in agreement with that. "If Mama or I ask for the keys you hand them over. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Josie said, though this time she held in her sigh. Her moms were kind of putting a buzz kill on her excitement.

The three of them discussed how this car and driving thing would work for a little while longer and then Arizona smiled. "Ok baby girl. Go get ready for the day."

Callie was smiling a beaming smile of her own. "We're going out for lunch and you're driving."


	23. Age Sixteen: Secret Closets

The summer sun had just started to light up the Seattle skyline when Josie and Sophie Robbins-Torres pulled out of the driveway. The older cousins were spending the whole day at the beach, which had upset several of the younger cousins. Mac, the girls' eight-year-old brother, for example was one pissed off little boy when he found out no one under the age of fourteen until parents could bring them. The older kids wanted some time to hang out and not have to worry about babysitting younger siblings. They wanted to catch up and talk, and that would be hard to do with kids under foot. Sophie, Josie, Ethan, Michael, and Chris were all meeting up for breakfast on the beach and early morning waves. Sophie didn't have any problems with letting her sister drive because Josie had been excited about showing her sister her new jeep. After stopping for coffee the girls headed off to Half Moon Bay with the back of Josie's jeep crammed with their boards, wetsuits, coolers and their personal bags of essentials.

Sophie was home for the summer and Josie couldn't be happier. It felt so good to have her big sister in the house again. Josie liked knowing that if she needed Sophie all she had to do was walk down the hallway to her bedroom. Sophie was glad to see her baby sister back to her old self. The girls had been inseparable while they reconnected. The dark haired older sister was a little worried that her dirty blonde haired younger sister didn't seem to be moving on when it came to seeing someone new, and was hoping that Josie hadn't been broken beyond repair when it came to dating. Sophie had asked if Josie was seeing anyone, or if she liked someone, maybe had a crush, but Josie shook her head and said no. She'd said that her focus right now was the internship program and spending time with her friends and family. From talking to Ethan and Chris, Sophie learned that Michael was acting like a bodyguard, keeping anyone who might be interested in Josie at bay. Ethan admitted to doing that him self from time to time because he couldn't stand the idea of seeing Josie broken again. Sophie let them all know that for Josie's sake they needed to back off the protector biz a little bit.

When they got to the bay Ethan was waiting on them and had already staked claim to the best area. They were setting things up when Michael arrived. They had just started making breakfast when Chris showed up. The five of them talked and laughed while they sat around a small fire eating and loading up on caffeine. Sitting in a camp chair across from her sister, Sophie couldn't help but noticed the way Josie sat between Michael's legs. The two were so comfortable with each other that Sophie wasn't sure if they knew just how intimately they interacted with each other. As the morning went on Sophie began picking up on the differences between the two. To Josie, Michael was her best friend, her Mark, but for Michael; Josie was far more to him and Josie had no clue.

After putting on their wetsuits the teens all headed out onto the water. Callie, who had grown up in Miami, and Lexie who had grown up right here in Seattle had been their primary teachers when it came to surfing and other water sports, but to everyone's surprise Christina had turned out to be a damn good surfer herself. Which is why it wasn't much of a surprise when Christina showed up with Lillian and Axel. By noon their group of five had turned into fifteen. Along with Christina and her two kids, Callie showed up with Mac, Teddy came with Emily, and Meredith came with George, Carol, and Lexie. Callie had also shown up with a massive tin pan full of seafood paella.

That evening after all the parents and younger kids were gone things began to feel a little more party like. Sophie and Josie had taken off to freshen up a little and while they were gone some of their friends had shown up, including Cory, Sophie's boyfriend who'd come up from SoCal to spend a week with her. While the girls were gone Chris had left as well to pick up a friend. When he got back he introduced Kai to everyone. Kai went to Washington U rather then the prep academy the cousins went to, which made him older then everyone, but no one had an issue with that. Music played from portable dock of speakers, the fire was built back up, and there were several camp lights set around their little area.

"My Dad likes to camp." Chris explained to those who asked. "We have a ton of this of cramp."

Josie, being the social butterfly she was, mixed and mingled with everyone but she couldn't help but watch Chris and Kai and it made her smile. It was crystal clear to her that the two boys were more then friends. She waited until Chris was on his own before going over to him and giving him a huge smile. "So, how long have you and Kai been dating?"

The question caught Chris off guard and for a moment panic crossed his face and clouded his eyes. Then he relaxed, realizing that if he were going to tell anyone Josie would be the safest. "A couple of weeks. We met when I took the campus tour at Wash U."

"I like the way he makes you smile." Josie said brightly. Then she caught the emotions in Chris' eyes. She took hold of his upper arm and pulled him over to a drift log away from everyone. "What's wrong? You looked a little, I don't know, scared for a moment."

Chris sighed. "Josie, you can't tell anyone about me and Kai. I didn't know I was being so obvious."

Now that she thought about it Josie hadn't realized her cousin and one of her closest friends was gay until she saw him with Kai. "Lesbian moms remember? I don't think the others could tell. Why are you hiding this, Chris?"

"Seriously?" Chris asked as he looked at Josie like he couldn't believe she'd asked him that question. When he saw she was serious he sighed. "Have you met my Dad? Dr. McDreamy? Mr. Perfect? Mr. I have plans for my son that mimic my own life? Having a gay son isn't in that plan, Josie."

"You're Dad's not a homophobe, Chris." Josie said with a deep frown. "He's friends with my Moms. He didn't even freak all that much when his ex-wife started dating another woman. He danced with Aunt Addie at her and Aunt Teddy's wedding for pete's sake."

"Having gay friends, having gay women friends, is totally different then having a gay son." Chris pointed out. "You're Moms, Addisona and Teddy, kinda hot. Gay son, not so much."

Josie thought about that for a few seconds. "Well," She said as she continued to roll around the thought. "If he does have a problem at first he'll come around. My Abuela did."

"Yeah?" Chris asked with a slightly angry tone in his voice. "And just how much of your life and Aunt Callie's did she miss before she had a heart attack and saw the light?"

"I was five." Josie said softly. "Sophie was eight."

"Eight years." Chris said. "Aunt Callie's mother was out of her life for nearly a decade because Aunt Callie married a woman."

"Yeah," Josie said. "But Uncle Derek isn't Catholic and all brain washed by religion the way she was."

Chris sighed. "I've thought about this for a long time, Josie. I just can't come out, not yet, not now."

Josie looked into Chris' eyes and then nodded after seeing the emotions there. "Ok. I won't say a word. At least now you have me to talk too."

"Thanks Josie." Chris said softly.

Josie wasn't comfortable with secrets. There hadn't been any need for them in her family, so she wasn't comfortable keeping one now, but she did. Callie and Arizona could tell that there was something on Josie's mind and were troubled that their daughter wouldn't come to them. There had been many nights after Josie and Mac were sound asleep where they talked about what it could be, but neither could figure it out. There were also many nights when they were sound asleep that Josie would let Chris in through her window so they could talk. Things only got worse after school started because on top of Chris' secret, Josie soon found she had one of her own.

Sitting in the bleachers with her wife, son, and nephews Callie watched the field hockey game her daughter was playing below them. She frowned when she saw a member of Josie's team "accidently" hit Josie with her field hockey stick. "Ok, that's not the first time that girl's gotten rough with Josie. Those two are playing more aggressively with each other then they are against the other team. Who is she?"

"Maria Sanchez." Michael said with a slight leer. "She and Josie don't get along."

"Why?" Arizona asked as she too watched Josie carefully. "Everyone likes Josie."

Michael and Ethan exchanged a look before Michael said, "It started last year in history class. They both did their oral reports on Cuba and Josie's was stellar. Ever since then the two have become competitive with each other to the extreme."

Ethan nodded. "Maria also likes making cracks about Josie being a white girl who just posing."

Callie frowned deeply. She didn't like the sound of this girl at all. Maybe this kid was why Josie was acting weird. She made up her mind to talk to Josie wither the girl wanted to talk or not.

After the game most of the girls were in the locker room celebrating their win. Josie and Maria were arguing, Maria pointing out the mistakes Josie had made, and Josie pointing out that three of the five goals made were hers, and that Maria hadn't scored at all. They stopped when their coach came in, listened to what she had to say, and then they quietly ignored each other while everyone changed and packed up their gear. They were the last two in the locker room when Josie walked past Maria to leave.

"Where do you think you're going, Torres?" The senior girl asked as she grabbed Josie by the upper arm.

"The team's meeting for sushi." Josie answered just as Maria pulled hard on her and then shoved her into the lockers. Josie was just able to take in a breath before Maria's lips were on hers; kissing her so hard it was bruising. Josie returned the kiss and let it come to a natural end before trying to push the other girl off her. "Maria."

"What?" The other girl asked as she looked into Josie's blue eyes.

"I'm not doing this as long as you keep treating me like shit in public." Josie said as she pushed Maria off her. "I'm not saying we have to tell people, but you need to curb the mean girl shit. Seriously Maria, I'm no one's bitch." She glared at the other girl and slipped away from her and walked out of the locker room.

"Great game, mija." Callie said as she waited for her daughter to emerge from the building.

Josie beamed as she smiled at her Mommy. "Thanks Mommy. We decided on sushi. Is Mama and the boys at the car?"

Callie nodded as she walked with her daughter towards the parking lot. "Yeap, they're waiting on us. How are you feeling mija? Things got pretty physical out there."

"I'm fine Mommy." Josie reassured.

"Are you sure?" Callie asked. "You took some pretty hard smacks from that Sanchez girl."

Josie turned her head to look over at her Mommy and eyed the older woman carefully. "How do you know Maria?"

"I don't." Callie said. "Not yet anyway. Mike and Ethan told me who she was."

Josie had the 'I'm going to kill them' look on her face. She sighed and shook her head as she looked out towards the parking lot. "There's nothing to worry about, Mommy."

"The boys said she has issues with you." Callie said firmly. "That does worry me, Josie."

"She has issues with everyone." Josie said, brushing it off. "She's a mean girl, so what, that only matters if you let it matter. She doesn't faze me."

"Josie, if this girl is giving you a hard time…" Callie began but was cut off.

"I got this Mommy." Josie said firmly as she looked into her Mommy's big brown eyes. "Let me handle it on my own. If I can't I'll come you and Mama, I promise, but until I do, back off, please?"

Callie didn't like this, not one bit, but she knew there were times when she needed to take a step back and let her kids handle their own stuff. It was a mother's instinct to come in and make it all better, but that wouldn't let her kids grow and learn what they needed to know for when they headed out on their own. It took everything in Callie but she finally sighed and gave a small nod. "Fine. But Josie, if you can't handle whatever this is, please come to me or Mama."

"I will Mommy I promise." Josie said and then gave her Mommy a reassuring smile complete with dimples.

Josie spent all week avoiding being alone with Maria to make her point. When it was just the two of them Maria was a totally different girl. They talked and laughed, they liked enough of the same stuff that there was always something to talk about. Then when they were around people Maria would go right back to trying to pick fights, and the next time they'd have a moment together there would be kissing. Josie knew this wasn't exactly a healthy relationship but then she wasn't really looking for a relationship. She wasn't ready to have anything nearly as close to what she had with Conner with anyone. Though that slowly began to change, and one afternoon when Danny Niles asked her if she'd like to see a movie with him she said sure. She had fun but Danny didn't work out. Katie McAlester, a transfer student from London, did work out. Josie had offered to show Katie around Seattle and the girls just hit it off.

"How many times has this movie been re-released?" Katie asked as she and Josie walked out of the movie theater.

Josie laughed. "So many times that my Aunt Miranda says it's not even the same movie anymore. She has the original releases of the original trilogy if you want to see them. You could come over next weekend and we'll make a marathon on it. My little brother will be at our Dad's so we won't have to worry about him hanging around. My Mommy will cook. She's a great cook."

Katie smiled brightly at that. "I'd love too. I have to ask my Mum first though."

The following Monday at school Maria cornered Josie and confronted her about Katie. Maria was angry, told Josie she didn't want her seeing other girls, and Josie shot back that they weren't together. It surprised Josie to see a flicker of hurt when she told Maria they'd just been using each other. Then she went on to say that she was ready to see people for real, to date and have fun, and do what normal teenage girls do. Maria didn't like it when Josie told her she needed to figure herself out, that she would be miserable if she kept fighting her true nature. Maria's reply was to say some really nasty things about her and her mothers, to which Josie called out, "At least they're blissfully happy dykes!"

When she got home she was still fuming from her fight with Maria and after driving home and thinking about it, she was angry with Chris too. When she stormed into the house, slamming the door, she was ranting in Spanish about people still being closets in this day and age. "The Vice President is a gay man for pete's sake!"

Arizona and Callie had both had the afternoon off and had taken full advantage of having the house to themselves. When it was time for Josie to come home they managed to make it to the living room, fully dressed and looking rather pleased, but Arizona couldn't help herself and soon found herself straddling her wife's lap as they kissed. When the front door slammed shut they broke apart and looked towards their very upset teenager, but Arizona didn't bother moving. She sat there and listened, her Spanish had gotten much better over the past twenty some years, so she understood what Josie was saying. "Who's in a closet?"

"Who isn't!" Josie said in English as she made her way towards the steps. "Ok, I get it, culture and religion still have some people to brain washed to accept who they are, and some girls are just bitches for the sake of being bitches. Get all pissed off with me because I had the nerve to go on a real date. We weren't even dating! Angry make out sessions in the locker room isn't dating! Argh! I'm so done with her! Then there's him and his damn little secret, that's not so secret if you have freaking eyes when he's around Kai. He has no excuse, he's just afraid his Dad will freak, even if his Dad has worked with Lesbians for the past twenty-five years and shouldn't freak all that much."

Both Callie and Arizona blinked as Josie's rant grew faint as she went upstairs and slammed her bedroom door. Finally Callie turned to look at her wife and said, "I told you Chris was gay."

"I told you there was more to that situation with Maria Sanchez." Arizona replied.

They waited for Josie to calm down and sure enough just like they knew she would she came back downstairs. She plopped down on the bottom steps and looked up at her mothers with pleading eyes. "What am I suppose to do?"

"Well," Arizona said softly. "As far as Chris is concerned, sweetheart, you just need to let him do things in his own time. You can't force him not to be afraid. And sweetheart, he has good reason to be afraid. We'd all like to think Derek and Meredith would be all right with this, but you can't really be one hundred percent. When I told Granddad I was gay I expected him to throw me out and disown me, and he didn't, he accepted it and supported me. Mommy had expected Abuelo to be shocked, but supportive because he always had been, and instead he totally freaked out on her."

"It's not your secret to share with the world, mija." Callie added. "Which you already know because you haven't said anything, not even to us, until now. Mama and I figured you were keeping something bottled up, we just didn't know it was this."

"We did however figure out that there was something off about you and Maria." Arizona said as she motioned for Josie to join them on the couch. She waited until Josie was sitting between them before asking, "Angry make out sessions?"

"Our relationship was complicated." Josie said with a shrug as she slumped down a little into the couch.

"You're relationship sounds kind of messed up, mija." Callie said. "Kind of unhealthy."

Josie sighed. "I know Mommy. It was kind of messed up. I think I kind of hurt her feelings when I said we'd just been using each other anyway so why did it matter if I dated someone for real."

"Do you think she had feelings for you?" Arizona asked as she brushed the hair Josie was hiding behind out her face.

"I don't think so." Josie said. "She never acted like she had feelings for me. She's so mixed up in the head I don't think she would know an emotion that wasn't anger if it bit her on the nose."

"Do you have feelings for her?" Arizona asked.

Josie shook her head. "No. In a funny way she was safe. No attachment but a great kisser." She smirked and then blushed. "I might have feelings for Katie."

Arizona smiled softly. "I like Katie."

Josie mirrored that smile. "Me too." There were a few moments of silence before Josie looked up at Arizona. "Mama," She said softly as she looked into slightly lighter then her own blue eyes. "Does it bother you that I like both girls and boys?"

"No baby." Arizona said as she caressed her daughter's cheek. "It doesn't bother me that you like both. I just want you to be happy, Josie. I want you to have what I have with your Mommy, and if that's with a man, fine; if it's with a woman, fine. As long as that person is good to you, and loves you, and you're the same in return."

Josie visibly relaxed at hearing that and then hugged her Mama tight. "Good to know." Josie and her moms talked things out a little more. Callie and Arizona wanted to make sure Josie was careful, they didn't want her falling into what could be a dangerous relationship, which could have happened if she'd continued with the mess she'd had going on with Maria. When they were finished hashing it all out Josie sat quietly between her moms for a while. Dating could be such a hassle; emotions could be such a mess. Finally after just cuddling with her moms a little longer she asked. "Mama, tell me about seeing Mommy for the first time."

Arizona and Callie both laughed, but they sat there until it was time to make dinner and told Josie, and Mac when he came home, about how Arizona had seen Callie around, asked about her, and then cornered her in Joe's bathroom and kissed her. They told them about their first date, and dancing in Callie's living room, and staying up all night eating pizza and talking after Alex and Izzie's wedding. They left out what else they did all night but Josie filled in the blanks on her own. As she listened to her mothers talk about meeting and falling in love, Josie knew she wanted that, she wanted what they had and she wouldn't settle for less.


	24. Age Sixteen: Tis the Season: Part One

Every year since she was allowed to pick out her own costume Josephine Robbins-Torres always put a lot of thought into what she wanted to be for Halloween. This year it was a really important decision because she and Katie were going as a couple and had decided to go with a couples' costume. Several ideas were batted around included going as pandas, as Disney fairies, and even as a pair of lungs. After talking to Chris and Kai, who they were going to a party with, they'd decided to all do something that matched. When the girls came down the stairs Josie's mothers, Arizona and Callie Robbins-Torres couldn't help but smile. Josie had on a tight leather pencil skirt, a silky blue tank top with black lace trim, knee high black leather boots and a long black leather duster. Her long blonde hair was curled into flowing waves, and her make-up was tasteful and classy. Katie was wearing brown leather pants, a white diesel gisil jacket, a thick brown military style belt, a gunslinger belt, a leather wrist cuff, and a really curly wig. Josie was dressed as the newest incarnation of The Doctor, number fourteen to be exact and the first female incarnation, while Katie was dressed as River Song.

"You two look great." Callie said while she finished getting Mac, their eight year old, into his Thanksgiving turkey costume.

"What makes that a costume?" Timothy "Mac" Robbins-Torres asked his older sister while his Mommy zipped him up. "You look like Mama before she and Mommy go a on date."

Arizona snorted. "I wish I still looked that good in a leather skirt."

"You look great in a leather skirt." Callie reassured as she gave her wife a certain look.

While their mothers flirted Josie held up her 'working' sonic screwdriver and miniature version of the Tardis. "These make it a costume. It's all about the props."

"People who know who the characters are will know who we're trying to be." Katie explained. She and Josie had been dating for a few weeks now, and Josie's family had been more then welcoming.

"What if they don't know the characters?" Mac asked.

"Then we tell them if they ask." Josie said. "How are people going to know you're a Thanksgiving turkey and not just a turkey?"

Mac picked up a banner that read, 'Happy Thanksgiving' and put it on like a sash. "Like this."

Josie laughed as she ruffled her little brother's hair. "Clever."

"We promise to be back from trick-or-treating before you girls leave for the party." Arizona said as she carried over two massive bowls of candy. "Thank you for staying to pass this stuff out."

"You're welcome, Mama." Josie said as she gave her mother a bright dimpled smile.

"It'll be fun." Katie added. "Halloween isn't this big in England." Katie had been impressed by the totally decked out Robbins-Torres house. Josie had explained that after Christmas, Halloween was her mothers' favorite holiday.

Despite the fact that the Robbins-Torres house was semi-secluded the girls passed out candy to plenty of trick-or-treaters. They also helped themselves to their favorites as they watched Halloween specials on t.v., and enjoyed a few chocolate flavored kisses. The girls had been taking things really slow. Josie had told Katie all about Conner and that she was the first person Josie had had feelings for since him. Katie had been so touched and deeply moved by the story, though she also felt a little bit of pressure about living up to such a story. Katie told Josie that she'd had a girlfriend back in London but they'd broken up after her parents had decided to move to the U.S. after her mother had been offered a position at Washington State.

Not to long after Arizona, Callie and Mac returned from a very successful night of trick-or-treating Chris Shepherd and his boyfriend Kai showed up dressed as Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones from Torchwood. "Well, don't you boys look handsome?" Callie said as she took pictures of the teens. When they were at the Robbins-Torres house Chris, who wasn't out about being gay, and Kai felt safe and comfortable enough to be themselves. Chris knew he could trust his aunts and cousins not to say anything to anyone. They had been nothing but supportive, though he had been pissed as hell at Josie when he'd found out she'd told her mothers. When Callie and Arizona told him that they'd kind of had a feeling about him, he wondered if his own parents had a feeling as well.

"Christopher, be careful with my baby girl." Callie said firmly as the kids got ready to leave for their party.

Chris gave his aunt a warm, reassuring smile. "I promise, Aunt Callie. I'm always careful when I have Josie in the car with me. You break bones for a living."

Callie laughed. "Yes I do." Then she turned to her daughter. "Curfew's at twelve-forty-five, mija. That gives you time to get Katie home by her curfew."

"Yes Mommy." Josie said with a small roll of her deep blue eyes.

"Have fun." Arizona called out as the kids left the house.

The party was a friend's house with his teacher parents supervising, which is why Callie and Arizona had no issue with letting Josie go. The house was even more elaborately decked out them Josie's house and there was enough food and kid friendly drink to supply most of Seattle. The music was loud and everyone was having a great time. Chris was a little more guarded about how he acted with Kai, but two still managed to have fun. Josie spent most of her time with Katie, but she managed to dance with Michael and Ethan as well. At the end of the night after dropping Kai off at his dorm, and Katie at her house, Chris headed towards Josie's to drop her off before heading even further out to his own. "I'm so jealous of you."

Josie blinked as she turned her head to look at him. "What why?"

"Because you get to be so open with Katie." Chris said honestly, a touch of anger in his voice.

"You could be that way with Kai if you'd come out to your parents." Josie pointed out. "Doesn't it bother Kai to be kept a secret?"

Chris sighed. "Yeah, it does, but he's been real supportive about giving me time."

"Unlike me." Josie smirked.

"Yeah." Chris replied. "Unlike you." He said, and then they were silent until he added, "I almost told my Dad. We were hanging out, just the two of us, and we were talking. I came so close."

"Why didn't you?" Josie asked. "What stopped you?"

Chris sighed again. "My Aunt Amelia called. He's never in a good mood after he's talked to her. I couldn't after that."

Josie reached over and put her hand on his shoulder. "You'll tell him when it's the right time."

Two weeks after Halloween Josie was in her room getting ready for bed when she heard her Mommy's cell phone ring. She didn't think anything of it until she heard the tone of her Mommy's voice, more then the words she was saying, and something suddenly felt off. She crept out of her room and halfway down the stairs so she could listen.

"I haven't seen him, Meredith." Callie said. "No, he's not here." There was a pause. "Yes, we knew." There was another pause. "Because it wasn't our secret to tell, and if Derek reacted the way you said he did, then Chris had a damn good reason to keep it a secret." Another pause. "Yes, I know Derek just reacted out of shock but it still had to be devastating to Chris to have his dad tell him to get out."

Josie gasped, which caused her mothers to look up at her. Tears were welling in Josie's eyes when Arizona motioned for Josie to come down and sit beside her on the couch. Josie didn't have to even think about it. She ran to her mother's waiting arms. Derek threw Chris out? Why, because he finally told him he was gay? Oh poor Chris!

"Yes, of course." Callie said. "I'll call you if I hear from him. All right. Goodbye."

"Mommy?" Josie asked so much in that one simple word.

Callie walked over and sat beside her daughter. "Chris told his parents tonight. Derek didn't react well. He told him to get out."

"Why?" Josie asked. She looked so confused. Her Uncle Derek had always been a hero of hers. She adored him. She couldn't understand his reaction at all. "Why would Uncle Derek do that? He loves Chris. He's not that kind of man. I didn't think he'd be that kind of man."

"He isn't that kind of man." Arizona said as she held Josie tight. "Derek acted out in shock, baby. For eighteen years he's had this idyllic image in his head of his son and his son's future. That image has been drastically changed now and he needs time to pick up the pieces and put together a more realistic picture of the hopes and dreams he has for Chris."

Callie waited to let Josie think about what Arizona said but she couldn't wait to long. No one knew where Chris was, but they all knew he was highly upset. "Josie, mija, do you know where Chris would go?"

Josie bit her lip, unsure of wither to tell or not.

"Josephine, Chris is hurting really bad right now and I know he probably thinks he wants to be alone, but he's scared and being alone right now isn't good." Callie said. "You need to trust me, mija, I went through what Chris is going through. Do you know where he'd be?"

Josie nodded.

"Then go get dressed and we'll go get him and bring him here, ok?" Callie said before placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead.

"Ok Mommy." Josie said before heading upstairs.

It didn't really surprise Callie when she found herself at the ferryboat docks. What did surprise her was the fact that Josie was leading her to a rather secluded part of the docks. If she'd known Josie was hanging out here she'd have thrown a fit, she still might when this was all over. It was not a very friendly area to be in.

"Chris?" Josie called out softly. "Chris are you here?"

"Josie?" Chris' voice called back.

"Yeah." Josie called out. "And my Mommy too."

Chris was sitting on a cargo container and could see Josie and Callie coming into view. "Guess you heard huh?"

Callie nodded. "Come on down, Chris. You're coming home with us."

The boy didn't argue. He climbed down from the huge mental box and walked over to Callie and Josie with a heartbreaking look on his handsome face. Chris was the perfect blend of his parents. He had Derek's hair and Meredith's eyes. He had Derek's smile and Meredith's heart. Callie hugged him as soon as he reached her. "It's going to be ok, Chris. I know it doesn't feel like it will be right now, but you'll see."

When they got back to the house Arizona made Chris something to eat and some tea for everyone while Callie called Meredith. They agreed that Chris would spend the night and then she'd be there in the morning to pick him up. It would give her time to talk to her husband. When she and Callie were finished talking Callie gave Chris the phone so Meredith could reassure her son that she loved him and that she would support him. She also tried to convince him that his father would come around and that Derek still loved him.

Watching Chris go through what he was going through with his parents made Josie more then grateful for her mothers. She had never had the kind of doubts about them that Chris had about his father, and she knew she was lucky in that fact. Yes, she'd worried a little over her Mama's feelings about her liking both boys and girls, but deep down she never feared or doubted her mother wouldn't do anything less but love and support her. For the rest of the night Josie was never more then a few feet away from her mothers, and had even thought about sleeping in their room with them, but her need to be there for Chris was stronger than her own need for comfort, so she slept downstairs with Chris in the living room.

"You know Josie's right." Arizona said late that night as she lay in her wife's arms. "With all the changes, all the progress, it's still really stupid that people react the way Derek did."

"It's a generational thing, I think." Callie said. "For people our age Derek and Meredith are still the norm, and we're still the oddity. When the kids start becoming parents they're not going to be so closed minded. They'll know that there's a chance one of their kids might be gay, and they'll be better prepared for it."

Arizona sighed softly and turned into Callie a little more so she could use their closeness to block out the world. "I could totally hit Derek Sheppard with a brick right now."

Callie laughed as she hugged her wife and kissed the top of her head. "I have a plaster hammer with his name on it."

"Calliope, you don't think that he's been harboring ill feelings about us all these years do you?" Arizona asked.

Callie shook her head. "He's been a good friend, Zo. I just think all bets are off when it comes to your own kid."

Arizona thought about it and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess your right. I still wanna hit him with a brick though."

The next morning Callie made a huge breakfast while they waited on Meredith. When she got there she hugged her son as if she were never going to let him go. She admitted that she'd had her suspicions, but she'd been waiting on him to come to her. As far as Derek, he was coping a major macho attitude about the whole thing, but she promised they'd work it all out as a family.

"Thanks for letting me stay here last night." Chris told his aunts who each hugged him tight.

"We're here when you ever you need us, Chris." Arizona reassured and Callie nodded in agreement.

Over the next several weeks Josie checked in with Chris and Callie and Arizona checked in with Meredith, and the consensus was that Derek was brooding rather then dealing. All the tension was going to make the holidays interesting because Thanksgiving was at the Sheppard's this year.

"Mama, Josie's pouting." Mac called from the back seat as the Robbins-Torres clan made their way out to the woods.

"Leave her alone, Mac." Sophie said with a smirk. "She misses her girlfriend."

Josie huffed. Katie's family had decided to use the extra long weekend given to them by the American holiday to fly back to London to visit family. She'd wanted to spend the holiday with Katie because it would have been their first as girlfriends and Katie's first in America. She didn't want to hear it when her parents reminded her that Thanksgiving was about being with family, and that Katie and her parents were actually doing just what the holiday was for.

Since the teasing wasn't bad neither Callie nor Arizona said anything. They both knew that once they got to Derek and Meredith's Josie would be absolutely fine because there was a surprise waiting for her. As they pulled up to the Grey-Sheppard house they could see the oddest-looking contraption several yards away from the house and all the men standing near it. "Oh good lord." Callie said as she parked the car. "They'd decided to try deep frying the turkey again."

"As long as Aunt Miranda made candy yams and Aunt Meredith bought canned cranberry jelly, it's all good." Josie said as they got out and headed towards the house.

"Plus you know Aunt Addie has her caterers on standby." Sophie added as she helped her mothers carry in the dishes they'd brought. "She's done it ever since the year Uncle Owen decided they should go out and hunt the turkey rather then by a perfectly good one at the store."

"Hey guys, welcome." Meredith greeted as she opened the door. She and Lexie took the pies Callie, Arizona, and Josie had so they could take their coats off while George took the rice dish from Sophie. The youngest Sheppard male had quiet the crush on Sophie and was always falling over himself to do things for her.

After taking her coat off Josie headed into the living to greet her family. As was normal for her she looked for Addison and Teddy first, which meant she didn't see who was standing near the couch his mother and girlfriend were sitting on. "There's my best girl!"

Bright blue eyes went wide as Josie's neck whipped around so fast the doctors in the room were surprised the girl didn't give herself whiplash. Ears were covered as Josie squealed, "Tuck!" She ran to the handsome young man and practically flung herself into his arms. She had a death grip on his neck as he picked her up and swung her around.

"Hey Jos." William "Tucker" Bailey-Jones said as he hugged the girl. Tuck had missed last Thanksgiving because he'd gone home with his girlfriend, and then Bailey had gone out to Baltimore for Christmas. So it had been almost two years since Josie and Tuck had physically seen each other. Josie was so happy to see him she had tears in her eyes. When Tuck let her go and saw the tears he simply wiped them away. "Missed you too, Josie."

Josie hugged Tuck again and then stepped back and hit him in the shoulder. Her voice trembled a little with emotion when she told him, "Don't ever be gone so long again!"

"I won't." Tuck said with a warm smile. "I promise."

"Hi Josie." Dakota Walker, Tuck's long time girlfriend said from where she sat by Miranda.

"Hi Dakota." The girl said without letting go of Tucker.

Miranda laughed. "Give it up. She's attached herself for the night."

"I wonder what Katie would say about this." Christina teased.

"She knows about Tuck." Josie replied as she turned to stick her tongue out at her aunt.

Since first meeting Dakota three years ago Josie had come a long way when it came to the beautiful young Native American woman. Josie loathed her at first because until Dakota, Tuck had been hers and hers alone. He'd never been in love with any girl before, and then he met Dakota and Josie had been worried that things would change between her and Tucker. As it turned out Dakota liked Josie as much as Tuck did and they slowly became friends.

While they waited on the turkey a game of flag football was started. Of course Josie was on Tuck's team and the two proved to be quite the pair. Chris was on his Dad's team and it was starting to annoy Derek that it seemed like Chris was texting every ten minutes. They played a little longer, but then Chris' phone rang and after checking the caller id he said, "I need to get this. I'll be back."

After that the game slowly broke up. The younger kids were hungry and wanted a snack, the older kids headed inside to play videos games. Tuck headed back to the living room where the rest of the adults were. "Did you loose something?" Callie teased when Tuck came back in without Josie.

Tucker laughed. "I've been cast aside for a suture kit and turkey organs."

"Christina?" Callie asked.

"Who else would be practicing suture technique on a holiday?" Arizona asked in reply to her wife's question.

"Meredith." Callie and Bailey said together and then laughed.

Meredith huffed. "Hey!"

"If she weren't playing hostess." Lexie added with a giggle.

After dinner Chris was the first to get up from the table because his phone went off again. He excused himself to take the call. Dessert was offered in the living room were everyone was gathering after leaving the dinning room. It was nice for everyone to be together and so relaxed. There were several conversations going on and one of them was Josie telling Dakota and Tuck about how she spent her summer shadowing the attendings at SGMW, and how she'd gotten to see some pretty amazing surgeries. "It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. The babies were conjoined at the pelvis and lower spine. My Moms were the lead surgeons for the obvious reasons, Mama's a Peds surgeon and they were just babies, and because their spinal cord was involved that meant Mama needed the best in Ortho and that's my Mommy." She went into detail about the marathon surgery that almost everyone in the room had some small part in, but rested mainly on Arizona and Callie's shoulders. Josie was beaming with pride for her mothers, but they were also beaming with pride because Josie was showing just how well she understood everything that had gone on over those few weeks. "It was so funny the first time the babies saw each other face to face the first time. It was like they knew who the one was but Jasper, the little boy, kept looking at his sister like what the heck are doing over there! He had the cutest little freaked out look on his face."

"They're both doing well." Arizona added with a huge smile. "They're both crawling and Jade has this look on her face when she looks at a chair like she thinking of using it to stand, but she just hasn't gotten the nerve to do it yet."

"So you're pretty sure you're going to be a doctor, huh Josie?" Dakota asked.

Josie snorted. "Not just a doctor, a surgeon."

Christina was about to say something when yelling from the back room caused everyone to turn and look just as a door slammed closed and then open again. Everyone watched as Chris stormed through the room and towards the front door.

"Christopher!" Derek called after his son.

Chris turned and glared at his father. "I am so fucking sick of your shit, Dad! I can't take it anymore!"

Josie jumped to her feet, her concern for Chris washing away anything she'd felt just moments before. "Chris?" Chris just looked at her, and in that look she saw so much pain. She looked at Derek and demanded, "What the hell did you say to him?"

"Josie." Callie warned.

"I can't." Chris said. "I can't do this. I can't be here."

Josie watched as Chris grabbed his car keys and flung open the door. "Chris! Chris wait!" She ran after him, but paused in the open door to look at Derek again. There was so much she wanted to say to him but the only thing she could manage was, "You're such an ass!"

Callie, Arizona, and Meredith made it out to the porch just in time to see Chris take off in his car with Josie in the passenger seat. Meredith turned to her husband with such anger that Derek took a step back. "Josie's right. You're a fucking ass."

Holidays were always a busy time for the ER, which is why Owen Hunt had agreed to work rather then join his wife and kids at their friends for dinner. He would go over at the end of his shift for whatever Christina managed to save for him, but since the weather had added cooler temps and drizzle to the evening he wasn't sure when that would be.

"Dr. Hunt." One of the interns called out. "We have an MVC, two causalities, ETA is about five minutes out."

"Lets get ready people." Owen called out as he and his team grabbed trauma gowns on their way to the ambulance bay. Tis the season for car accidents, he thought as he tied up his gown.

A few minutes later the first ambulance pulled up. The EMT off first started reciting vitals and stats. "Male, eighteen, ran his car off the road and into a patch of trees. He's been in and out of conscious. He's coherent when he is awake. Says his name is…"

"Chris." Owen said with wide eyes.

"Yeah, you know him?" The EMT asked.

Owen nodded. "His parents are surgeons here." Turning to his trauma fellow he said, "Trauma two." The young man nodded and went inside with Chris and the EMTs and his interns.

Just then the second ambulance pulled up and Owen watched as they unloaded Josie. Her vitals and stats weren't as good as Chris'. "Female, middle to late teens. She was unconscious at the scene. Unresponsive. Blunt trauma to the chest, we had to trache and incubate on the scene."

"Oh god." One of the intern's said. "Isn't that Dr. Torres' daughter?"

"Page Chief Bailey." Owen said. "Trauma one." He told the EMTs and then started barking out orders to his trauma residents and interns.

"Shouldn't we page Dr. Torres and Dr. Robbins?" One of them asked.

"Page Bailey first." Owen said. "Then yes, page Torres, Robbins, Grey and Sheppard. And page Dr. Altman, 911." Owen ordered tests and examined Josie while telling the girl, who's face and arms was cut up from shattering glass and jagged metal, "It's going to be ok, sweetheart. You're going to be fine. Do you hear me Josie? Stay with me, honey. You're going to be ok."

Bailey's hands were shaking as she ended the call on her cell. She looked out over the room of her family and friends. For a moment Miranda was visible before Bailey could take over, and her concern and fear was showing. She was about to say something when pagers started going off. "Wait." She said softly and then a little louder. "Wait." Everyone looked at her. "There's been an accident." She looked at the two sets of parents in the room whose kids were in their ER. "Chris drove off the road. He and Josie are Seattle Grace."

"Oh god Josie." Arizona said reached for Callie's hand.

"Come on." Mark said, already heading for the door. "I'll drive."

Meredith looked at Derek with such anger. It was clear to everyone who was at fault for this, at least in Meredith's eyes. The fact that Callie grabbed Derek by the shirt as if she were going to kill him, let them know Meredith wasn't the only on.

"Calliope." Arizona said softly.

Callie let Derek go and turned to look at Sophie. "Baby, stay here with your brother and Aunt Addie. I promise we'll call as soon as we know anything. Ok?"

Sophie looked scared but knew she needed to look after Mac who was upstairs playing, so she nodded. "Ok Mommy."

When they got to the hospital the group of them walked in together through the bay doors just as Owen was rushing out of the trauma room with Josie. He looked up and called out, "Altman, I need you."

Teddy took off at a run following Owen and his team to the OR elevator.

Callie watched in horror and then lunged forward. "Hunt? Why do you need Teddy?" Mark caught her before she could go after them. "Hunt! Why do you need a cardiothoracic surgeon! HUNT!"


	25. Age Sixteen: Tis the Season: Part Two

This felt like déjà vu for Arizona Robbins-Torres. She was standing with her hand pressed against the glass of the gallery watching as her closest friends operated on a piece of her heart down below her. An hour ago she and her wife had rushed into the ER of Seattle Grace – Mercy West after hearing that their daughter had been in a car accident. They had arrived just in time to see Owen Hunt and Teddy Altman-Montgomery rush their little girl up to the OR. They'd stood there with Josephine's father, Mark Sloan, staring at the closed elevator doors in shock. They barely noticed as Parker Kelley, Owen's trauma fellow, walked up to Meredith and Derek to talk to them about their son Chris who had also been injured in the accident. Chris had been driving the car. He'd left his parents house during their Thanksgiving get together after fighting with his father over his boyfriend Kai. Josie, who'd been supporting Chris as he dealt with his coming out issues, had jumped in the car with him. He'd been upset, it had started to rain, and the cold November weather made the road slick. Chris' car went off the road and plowed into some trees. Now their sixteen-year-old daughter was down there in the same OR Callie had been in almost twenty years ago.

As Arizona watched Teddy and Bailey working to save her daughter's life all she could keep thinking was, this can't be happening again. Her mind kept flashing back to the accident she and Callie had been in. Flashing back to nearly loosing Callie and Sophie, and all the awfulness that happened in those first seventy-two hours. Callie turned to look at her wife, saw her trembling, and moved to stand behind her so she could hold her. "She's going to be ok, Arizona." She whispered. Arizona could only nod because she knew if she opened her mouth to speak she'd only sob, and she need to be strong, for her child, for Callie and for herself.

Mark and Lexie were sitting in the front row of seats, their hands entwined. Mark had been saying something about doing the sutures on Josie's lacerations himself so his baby wouldn't have scars, but he'd have to wait until she was in recovery and it was killing him. It was killing all of them to be surgeons and to know that they couldn't do a damn thing but stand or sit there and watch while others had their hands inside their little girl's body. Suddenly Lexie looked up to find her sister and Derek near the door. She let go of her husband's hand to go out into the hall to speak to her sister about her nephew. "How's Chris?"

"There's some brain swelling but no bleeds." Meredith explained. "There's some bleeding around his spleen that they're going to watch. There are some pulmonary contusions they're monitoring as well. His right leg is broken, and there are some seriously deep lacerations and a lot of bruising." She paused before saying, "The police said that… That it was the passenger side that took most of the force. Josie?"

"The force of the impact on top of the force of the airbag deploying cracked two of Josie's ribs." Callie said from the doorway of the gallery. "She has several pulmonary lacerations. Her lung filled with blood fast, she nearly drowned in her own blood at the scene; so she had to be trached and intubated. Teddy has drained the lung and repaired the two lacerations she knew about, but there was a third on other side of her lung. She's working on that now. There was also some blunt abdominal trauma, which Bailey is taking care of. Her vitals are stable."

Derek took a step towards the Latina and her wife who was standing behind her. He opened his mouth to say something but didn't get a chance.

"I swear to god if you come any closer I'm going to pick up a chair and hit you with it." Callie growled at the man.

"Callie." Derek said softly.

"No!" The scared and angry woman said as she held up her hand to stop him from talking. "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you! I honestly don't see how Meredith has been able to stay with a man like you for so long. You don't bend, Derek. You see the world in black and white. It's either right or wrong, good or bad, normal or abnormal, you're way or no way. And now our kids are here, my little girl is in that OR, and it's your fault!" Callie got in Derek's face as she said; "I'm holding you reasonable for this, Sheppard. I swear to god if something happens to my little girl I will break every bone in your both of your hands. You'll barley be able to pick up a folk let alone a scalpel, you arrogant bastard."

Everyone was looking at him like he was the villain so Derek left without replying to what Callie said. Meredith soon followed to sit with her son, while everyone else went back into the gallery. Arizona had another odd sense of déjà vu when Callie put her hand on top of her hand, which she once again had pressed to the glass. It was weird because Callie had been in the OR not in the gallery with her and Mark, and yet Arizona felt as if they'd stood together like this once before.

"Did I ever tell you about the dream I had while I was unconscious?" Callie asked softly and without taking her eyes off her daughter laying on the OR table.

"You said you felt like you were out of your body and watching what was going on." Arizona said with a nod. "And that everyone was singing."

Callie nodded. "I was up here, Arizona. I was right here with you. I could feel how much you loved me. I heard you pray for me. I heard you beg me to come back to you." When her wife turned to look at her Callie reached out and caressed her cheek. "Josie knows we're here. She feels us loving her and waiting for her. She's going to be fine."

All Arizona could do as the tears welled in her eyes was nod and then rest her head against Callie's chest as her wife held her tightly in her arms. Then the moment between them was broken when the monitors down below started going off. Mark shot to his feet and pressed himself to the glass just as Arizona and Callie were doing as they watched.

"There's a bleeder." Bailey said. "I need to find the bleeder." Several seconds passed, nearly a full minute before she called out, "Where is it. Where is. I got it! I found it. I got it."

No one in the gallery breathed until Bailey said she'd fixed the bleeder in Josie's bowel. No one moved until Teddy and Bailey finally looked up at them several hours later. Bailey just gave them a reassuring nod. Josie was taken to recovery while Teddy met her parents out in the hall outside the scrub room. "She's stable." Teddy told them. "Surgically, I repaired the lacerations to her right lung. Dr. Hoffman used a cartilage graph to repair the breaks and stabilize Josie's ribs. Her other lung is a little bruised but fine, and there was no rib cage damage on the left side. Bailey repaired the lacerations to her bowel and liver, the rest of the abdominal area was fine. Most of the damage was done from the airbag and the locking seatbelt. Non-surgically, there's a concussion that'll be monitored and some bruising and lacerations." Teddy paused a moment before continuing, "We're going to keep her under for awhile just to give everything time to heal, so now we just wait and see. She's in recovery now, Bailey's with her, she'll be moved to PICU within the hour."

"Thank you." Arizona said as she hugged her best friend as tightly as she could.

"You're more then welcome." Teddy replied softly. She and Josie had always been close, she loved the girl, and she would have done everything in her power to make sure she was all right. "Lets get you three in to see your little girl."

While they waited for Josie to be taken up to her room Mark tended to the cuts on his little girl's face, shoulder and arms. He stitched whatever needed stitches, used glue on the cuts that weren't so bad, and bandages on the rest. There would be no scars, no physical reminders of what had happened as long as he could help it. While Mark tended to Josie's cuts, Arizona and Callie were just outside in the hall calling Sophie and Addison to let them now Josie was out of surgery and stable. Addison said she'd take Sophie and Mac home with her so they could stay with Josie for the night without having to worry about their other two.

No one really slept that night. Callie and Arizona took turns sitting at their daughter's bedside while Mark stood guard at the door as if protecting his little girl from the world. Karev stopped by to see how Josie was and to let them know Chris was stable and had asked to see Callie and Arizona. Arizona told him to let Chris know they would come by in the morning, that tonight he needed to rest.

The next morning after Teddy and Bailey came in to check on Josie, and they were sure she was still stable and sedated, Callie and Arizona left Mark and Addison sitting with her while they went to Chris' room. Because of the damage to her lung Josie was on a ventilator, the machine helping her to take controlled breaths that would allow her lung and ribs to heal. When Callie walked in to Chris' room to find the boy lying in bed, his leg in traction, but nothing else, not even a heart monitor, a flash of anger washed over her. Why was it her little girl in PICU hooked up to machines? Why was it her baby who was looking at a long recovery? Then Chris looked up at her and his eyes welled with tears, and Callie remembered that it was just an accident, and he wasn't to blame.

"I'm so sorry." Chris told his aunts when he saw them. "Aunt Callie, Aunt Arizona, I'm so sorry. I… I didn't see the patch of ice. I didn't… I…"

"It's alright, Chris." Callie said softly. "We know it was just an accident."

Chris shook his head, not willing to accept their understanding, their forgiveness because he couldn't forgive himself. "I shouldn't have let her come with me."

"You were upset, Chris." Arizona said. "She wanted to be there for you."

"That's why I shouldn't have let her come with me." Chris said. "Because I was upset."

"You're right." Callie said as she moved closer to his bed and looked him in the eyes. "As upset as you were, you shouldn't have been driving at all, but it was just an accident. We don't blame you, Chris."

Chris was blaming himself though and it showed in his eyes.

It was the same pained expression in the eyes of the man standing behind the nurse's station across from Josie's room. "Talk to him Mark." Addison said as Mark looked up to see Derek. "Talk to him now before Callie gets back here. I'm not certain she wouldn't hurt him for being here."

"I'm not certain I wouldn't hurt him either." Mark replied. "You talk to him. You freaked when you found out about Bizzy, you get it, so you talk to him."

Addison sighed. No, she hadn't taken it well when she'd found out about Bizzy being a lesbian but that was different. She and Bizzy had issues, lots of issues; issues that Derek didn't have with his kids. "I can't understand what it's like to be a father to a son, Mark. Go talk to him."

Mark huffed. He looked up to see Derek still watching and finally got to his feet. "Don't leave her alone."

"I won't." Addison promised.

Mark nodded and then left the room. "Come on." He told Derek. "You can't be here. Callie's still really pissed." Once they were out of PICU Mark said, "You're a fucking ass."

"Yeah, that seems to be the consensus around here." Derek replied.

"Chris is a good kid." Mark said as they walked. "And he deserves a better father then you've been lately."

"How would you have reacted if it were Mac or Ryder?" Derek asked.

"They're my sons." Mark said. "That's the only thing that matters. As long as they're happy and in a good relationship, I wouldn't care one way or the other."

"You have to say that." Derek said.

Mark stopped walking and looked at him oddly. "Why? Because of Callie and Arizona? Yeah, maybe I'm more comfortable with the idea because of them, but you've been around them as long as I have. You watched what they've gone through and you know that out of all of us they're the most stable. They're reality and fairy tale all wrapped up together and we all look up to that. Why wouldn't you want that for your kids?"

"Because I have seen it." Derek replied. "I don't want my kids hurt."

"Hurt comes with the deal, Derek. It doesn't matter who they're with." Mark replied. "Once they start dabbling with love and all the other emotions that come with being grown, hurts a given. That's just more reason why you should have supported him rather then pulling your Derek Sheppard shit on him. Yeah, Callie and Arizona have hurt each other, especially in the beginning, and it was a deep hurt too, but they used that to grow stronger, to heal and build their relationship. They got over what they did to each other. Do you know what Callie has never gotten over? Her parents disowning her. Sure, they resolved things, but she's never been as close to them as she use to be. Do you want that Derek?" Mark stopped so he could look at Derek. "Do you want Chris to feel that lingering pain every time he sees you? Do you want him to think about everything you missed in his life because of the choices you made? You almost lost your son last night, Derek. He could have died thinking you hate him for who he is. Just think about that for awhile."

Derek stood there and watched as Mark walked away, heading back up to be with his daughter. Then he walked off to think.

For three days Josie was kept sedated and on the ventilator. When Teddy was sure that Josie's lung was strong enough, that the repairs would hold, she took her off the machine. For several hours after that Callie and Arizona watched their baby girl breathing on her own, always keeping a close eye on the monitors to make sure her vitals remained strong. Then they waited after Teddy said they were taking her off sedation. They waited for their baby to open those beautiful blue eyes of hers. They waited to hear her voice again. It had been a very long three days. Josie was never alone, there was always someone willing to sit with her, which had let Arizona and Callie go home to shower and sleep and spend time with Sophie and Mac. Mac wanted to come to the hospital to see his sister, but they didn't think it was a good idea for him to see her on a ventilator, especially after Sophie had come back to Addison's and cried for an hour. They promised that once Josie was awake he could come see her.

Sitting by her daughter's bed, Callie held tightly to Josie's hand as they waited for her to wake up. Four days after Thanksgiving, Josie would have been starting to get into a Christmas frame of mind, she would have started singing Christmas carols Friday morning. So Callie sat there softly singing Silent Night. It was one of Josie's favorites.

"Mommy." A strained and quiet voice called out.

Callie stopped singing and looked up to see two beautiful blue eyes blinking at her. She swallowed down a sob as she squeezed Josie's hand and leaned in to kiss her baby's face gently. "Right here, mija. I'm right here."

Josie was groggy and confused. Her eyes darted around a bit and then locked again with her Mommy's tear filled brown eyes. "Mommy?"

"You're in the hospital, mija." Callie said softly as she brushed at Josie's hair. "You were in accident."

Josie thought about that but everything was fuzzy.

Callie could see the confusion play out. She could remember waking up herself and not fully understanding how she'd gotten there at first. It was a scary feeling that she was never able to explain, but she knew that Josie now understood it. "It's ok, baby. You're going to be ok."

Arizona had gone to get coffee and was walking back to her daughter's room with Teddy and Addison when she got the text from Callie. She didn't bother swallowing the sob of relief that bubbled up. "Josie's awake." She told the other two women before the three of them took off running. When Arizona walked into the room and those matching set of blue eyes turned to her she felt such relief that her knees nearly buckled. "Hey baby."

Josie's voice was scratchy as she replied, "Hi Mama."

"Hi baby." Arizona said as she leaned down to hug her little girl and kiss her face.

"How are you feeling Josie?" Teddy asked with a warm and loving smile.

"Hard to breathe." Josie admitted. "Throat hurts bad."

Teddy nodded as she examined Josie. "You injured your lung sweetheart. It's going to be a little harder to breathe while it heals. You're throat is sore because you had a tube in it. I'll make sure we get you something to sooth it, ok?"

Josie nodded. Then she looked at her mothers. "Chris?"

"He's fine mija." Callie reassured. "He broke his leg and got pretty banged up, but he's fine."

Josie was going to ask something else but Teddy stopped her. "Take it easy kiddo. You're awake but you still need to rest. Lets keep the talking to a minimum for now, ok?"

Josie nodded again. Saying just a few words had felt like she was trying to breathe through pudding that was on fire. Over the next several days Josie got a little stronger and breathing became a little easier. As she began to feel a little stronger and little more clear-headed she started to remember the accident. Chris had been so angry. Derek had jumped down his throat about talking to Kai when he should have been spending his time with his family. What really pissed Chris off was that the last couple of texts weren't even from Kai, they were from his Aunt Amelia. Chris had been ranting, and because he was angry he was driving faster then he should have been when they hit a patch of black ice that caused the car to spin off the road. The front end of the car, the passenger side of the front end, slammed into a tree. Josie could remember feeling sick just before the car stopped, she could remember the sound of hitting the tree, the sound of the air bag, and her own scream. If she weren't on pain meds she'd probably be having nightmares.

She needed to talk to Chris. He hadn't been in to see her since she woke up, and it was starting to worry her. Her Mama said he'd been released, that he was fine, so why hadn't he come to see her? Everyone else had come, Mac, Sophie, Michael, Ethan, Emily, Tuck, Lillian; it had been a parade of siblings and cousins, aunts and uncles, but no Chris. It was starting to piss her off.

"Josephine." Callie said as she held out the respiratory trainer Josie was suppose to be using as part of her respiratory theory. "Blow."

"No." Josie said as she shook her head. Her incisions were finally healed enough for her to sit up and even move around a little so she was sitting in a chair rather then in her bed.

"Josephine Daniela, I said blow." Callie said as she continued to hold out the device.

"No." Josie refused.

"Josie," Arizona tried. "Honey, if you want to get out of here and go home you need to strengthen your lung."

Josie still refused. If she couldn't control seeing Chris, she was going to control this. But then her Aunt Miranda have her a Bailey stare and said, "Josie blow into the damn tube." And not even she could refuse while getting that look so she blew into the tube and made the little ball bobble up and down in the casing.

After she was finished with her theory Josie had another set of x-rays done. She had to admit she was kind of proud that they'd used her Mommy's cartilage graphing technique to fix her ribs rather then using the standard u-plate. She was very proud of the work her parents did, and now she was further evidence of how awesome they were. After getting back from x-ray, once she was settled back into bed, she was surprise to find Katie knocking lightly at her door. The moment she saw her girlfriend Josie's face lit up. When her Mama said Katie had asked to come see her, Josie had been a little reluctant because she was all cut up and bruised and didn't want the other girl seeing her looking like crap.

"I'm really glad you're ok." Katie said after placing a soft kiss on Josie's lips.

"Me too." Josie said with a smile.

"How are you feeling?" Katie asked as she sat on the edge of Josie's bed.

"Better." Josie answered. "Stronger. I should be able to go home in a few days."

The girls talked for a little while. Katie told Josie about her trip and Josie told her about everything that happened before the accident. Katie could tell something was bothering Josie so she asked, "What's wrong?"

Josie sighed. "Chris won't talk to me. He hasn't even come to see me."

"He probably feels guilty, Josie." Katie said.

Josie hadn't really thought about that, but she guessed it made sense. If Chris were feeling guilty over the accident, he wouldn't be able to face her. "I don't blame him. It was accident."

"Doesn't mean he's not blaming himself." Katie pointed out. "Just give him time. It might be hard for him to see you here."

Josie took Katie's hand and held it tight. "I'm glad you came."

Katie gave Josie a warm, bright smile. "Me too."

It was two weeks before Josie was finally allowed to go home. Christmas was right around the corner and she hadn't been able to do anything, and it was making her feel down. She loved Christmas and she was starting to feel cheated. It helped that her mothers had waited until she was home to start decorating, and once she was allowed to get more involved she started feeling better. All of her shopping would be done last minute but Josie loved that kind of thing. She liked the rush and thrill of last minute shopping. She was out with her aunts, shopping for her parents, when she saw him. Chris was coming out of a store as she; Teddy and Addison were heading towards the food court. They'd been walking around for a while and Josie needed a break.

"Josie, wait." Addison called after the girl as Josie walked away from her and Teddy to catch up with Chris.

"You son of bitch." Josie said as she grabbed Chris' arm.

Chris was surprised to say the least. "Josie."

"You're just like your father, you know that?" Josie said as she crossed her arms over her chest the way Callie did. "When something's to hard for you to handle you avoid it."

"Josie I…" Chris began.

"Shut up." Josie said firmly. "If you'd bothered to come see me, to come talk to me, you'd know that I don't blame you for the accident. It was an accident, Chris, and I'm fine. If you'd come to see me, to talk to me, we could have worked this all out. But instead you've avoided me. You've asked Michael and Ethan about me rather then coming to me yourself. That hurt, Chris, that hurt worse getting hurt in the accident."

"Josie." Teddy said softly. She could see that Josie was straining a little to breath. Broken ribs took forever to heal, even with the graph, and because of that her still healing lung couldn't expand fully just yet, leaving Josie short of breath at times.

"I'm sorry." Chris said as he looked into Josie's teary eyes.

Josie just looked at Chris for a long moment. She could see the emotions play out in his eyes and she just shook her head. She looked up at her aunts and asked, "Can we go?"

Addison nodded. "Sure baby. Lets go."

That night Josie was sitting with her Mama at the coffee table filling out Christmas card envelopes when Arizona looked up and said, "I asked her to marry me and a truck came out of nowhere."

Josie looked up at her Mama and blinked. "Huh?"

"The accident Mommy and I were in." Arizona clarified. "I was driving. We were arguing and I looked away from the road for a second to ask her to marry me. The logging truck came out of nowhere and we hit it. I almost lost her and Sophie, and it was my fault, I'd been driving. Mommy never blamed me for what happened, but I blamed myself. It took a long time for me to forgive myself."

"But you didn't walk away." Josie replied. "You didn't avoid Mommy. You were there for her, and for Sophie."

"Yes, I was." Arizona agreed. "But it wasn't easy, Josie. It hurt so badly to see the woman I loved lying in that hospital bed fighting for her life because of something I did, even if it wasn't something I'd meant to do. That kind of pain, that kind of guilt, it takes time to fade, and sometimes, well sometimes it comes back."

"Do you still feel it?" Josie asked.

Arizona nodded. "I felt it when I saw Chris looking at you through the window to your room. He was there, Josie. That's an image you don't soon forget or forgive. You need to give him time."

"I know." Josie said with a sigh. "But it hurts, Mama. I was there for him through all of this mess and then he just walks away like that. It feels like everything else just didn't matter."

"It matters, Josie, and that's part of the why." Arizona said as she pulled her daughter close and wrapped her arms around her. "You were there for him and in his mind he's thinking, what a way to repay you. You supported him and he caused you to get hurt."

Josie sighed as she leaned into her Mama. "At least he and Uncle Derek are working things out."

Arizona smiled. "You two will work things out too. "

"I hope so." Josie said as they cuddle a little longer before going back to the task at hand. Those Christmas cards weren't going to send themselves.


	26. Age Seventeen: Ready Set Go

As she slowly began to stir Josephine Robbins-Torres gradually began to realize that there was a soft warm body beside her. As the fog began lifting from her mind her memory began to replay her memories. She and Kate had been watching old black and white movies in Kate's living room. When the movie was over Kate had leaned close and kissed her, the kiss quickly became heated, and the next thing Josie knew they had their shirts off and were going further then they'd ever gone before. They stopped long enough to ask each other if they really wanted to go on and once it was agreed that they did Kate led Josie up to her bedroom. They were both self-conscious at first, each girl exploring and running on pure instinct. When things had turned serious enough with Kate that sex had become a possibility Josie had kept her promise and gone to her mothers to talk to them. It had been an awkward but honest conversation and Arizona had explained safe sex between girls to her and then provided what she'd need. Of course now her mothers worried every time Josie went out with Kate, but they made it clear that they were there for her, and made sure that Josie understood the emotional as well as physical connotations that came from having sex.

It had been clumsy and novice but nice, and there was a soft smile on Josie's lips as she pressed herself against Kate's warm body. Then her internal clock caught up to her and she realized that it felt late, really late. Lifting her head to look at the clock on the bedside table Josie was instantly awake. "Shit! Kate! Kate wake up! Shit, I'm in so much trouble."

"Josie?" Kate moaned softly. "What's wrong?"

"I should have been home hours ago." Josie said as she disentangled from her girlfriend to get out of bed.

Now Kate was wide-awake. "You're mothers are gonna have a cow."

"Yeah, I know." Josie said as she gathered up her clothes and dressed. Once she was dressed she went over to Kate and kissed her. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Ok." Kate replied with a stunning, sleepy smile.

Josie coasted up the drive with her headlights off. She shut off her engine, closed the door of her jeep as gently as possible, and held her keys so they wouldn't make any noise as she unlocked the front door. Toeing off her shoes in the dark she tapped in the code for the alarm and then tip toed across the hardwood floor towards the stairs. She was just about to set her foot on the first step when the living room lights came on.

"Good morning mija." Callie said from the sofa. "Because you know it is morning, and this is really very cliché."

"Mommy, I…" Josie began as she turned to face her mothers.

"Don't Mommy me." Callie said as she continued to sit there with her arms crossed. "It's two in the morning Josephine."

"Where have you been?" Arizona asked as she stood and moved towards her daughter.

Josie bit her lip as she looked between her mothers. "At Kate's." She answered honestly. "We fell asleep."

"You feel asleep?" Arizona asked, standing inches from her daughter with her arms crossed.

"Yes ma'am." Josie answered. "We were watching Hepburn and Tracy movies and we feel asleep."

For several seconds Callie and Arizona both stared at their youngest daughter before Callie said, "You had us worried, Josephine. You didn't answer your phone. You're Mama was five minutes from hunting you down."

"I'm sorry." Josie said softly. "My phone was on the coffee table. I didn't hear it."

Arizona's eyebrow went up. "Where were you while your phone was on the coffee table?"

Josie blushed and her eyes dropped. Until that moment she'd been looking her mothers in the eye, and until that moment they'd known that she was being honest with them. Now everyone knew Josie wasn't telling them everything.

"Josephine." Callie said firmly as she got up to stand behind her wife. "Answer Mama's question."

It took several minutes for her to say it but Josie did admit, "Upstairs, in Kate's room."

Both Callie and Arizona looked confused as to why this would suddenly have their normally self-assured seventeen year old blushing and looking bashful. Then the pieces started to fall into place. Josie had mentioned something earlier about Kate's parents being out of town, that she was going over to keep her girlfriend company, alone, in Kate's house with no parents, in Kate's bedroom, alone in a house with no parents.

Several silent minutes passed before Callie finally said, "We'll talk about what happen in the morning if you want." She didn't want to push, but she hoped Josie would talk to them. "This is your second missed curfew this summer and you've only been on break for two weeks. One more and you're ground. Understand?"

Josie nodded. "Yes Mommy."

Callie nodded. "Go to bed."

They watched as Josie headed upstairs and then Arizona turned to her wife with a pout and watery eyes. "Our baby girl had sex."

"I know." Callie said with a sigh as she wrapped her arms around Arizona in a hug. "She's seventeen, Zo. She's not a child anymore. We've talked to her and she's a smart kid. I'm sure everything was fine." She hugged her wife tightly before letting go and taking hold of her hand. "We'll talk to her in the morning."

It was nearly noon before Josie finally ventured downstairs. She crept around the house as if the slightest noise or sudden movement would set off something horrific. Talking to her mothers about her new sex life was defiantly something horrific. It wasn't that her mothers wouldn't be easy to talk to, in fact they were very easy to talk to about anything and she'd never had any issues until now, but no matter how comfortable they were it would just be down right weird talking to them about having sex now that it had actually happened.

After grabbing coffee, a peanut butter sandwich and an apple Josie tip toed back towards the stirs but was stopped when Callie's voice called out, "Josie, are you finally up?"

"Yes Mommy." Josie called back. The siding door was open so she knew her mothers were on the deck. Taking a deep breath Josie headed outside to join them. "I'm really sorry about making you guys worry."

"We're always going to worry, Josie." Arizona said from where she was sitting beside her wife on the glider. "If there's a next time you need to call us right away."

Josie looked sheepish as she said, "I was kind of hoping you'd be asleep."

"You should have known better then that." Callie said with a gentle teasing smile.

"Yeah, I know." Josie replied simply.

There was a small pause before Arizona asked, "Do you want to talk about what happened last night?"

"Do I want to share details?" Josie said as her eyes darted back and forth between her mothers. "Um, no, not really."

Arizona blushed as she shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Josie. I meant to ask how are you feeling about what happened last night."

How did she feel about last night? Every girl has an overly romanticized fairy tale idea of what their first time would be like, and reality never lived up to that. The reality of it was that they were two seventeen year old kids acting off of adolescent hormones and an adolescent's understanding of emotion. But it was nice, and a lot better then some of the stories she'd heard from her friends about their first times. After several long minutes of thinking about it Josie finally looked up at her moms and said, "I'm ok. I don't have any regrets or anything if that's what you're worried about. I'm ok, I'm good, I promise."

Callie nodded. She'd been around Josie's age her first time too so she wasn't going to come down on her daughter for having sex. "If you need or want to talk mija."

Josie smiled, a beautiful and loving smile that was the best parts of her mothers' smiles. "I know Mommy."

Summer vacation meant working the intern program at Seattle Grace –Mercy West again. This year Josie worked outside of the surgical department a little more because her Aunt Miranda wanted her to understand that there was a medical world outside of the OR. Josie didn't mind she wanted as much experience as she could get. As soon as her senior year started in the fall she would began the progress of applying for college, and this was going to look great on her apps. Plus, she had a genuine love for this kind of thing and soaked everything in like a sponge. During her time in the program Josie found out she really liked research medicine, but at the end of the program she still had her heart set on being a surgeon.

The rest of summer was spent visiting grandparents and taking a family vacation to Hawaii. The first day of her senior year when Josie set foot into the school she'd spent the better part of her life in, everything felt different. For starters she once again had to deal with missing members of her little group. Chris was gone, not just from school but from Seattle. After he'd graduated he took off for Europe. It hadn't been easy, Chris had been weighted down heavily by his guilt over the accident, but he and Josie had managed to reconcile to a point before he left. They shared emails, video chatted once in awhile, and Josie never missed anything he posted on youtube or facebook or twitter, but he was out of her realm, he wasn't a daily part of her life, one of her boys was missing and that hurt.

"You look awfully sad for a senior." Michael Karev said as he stepped up behind Josie in the hallway.

"I hate change." Josie said with a soft sigh. "And today, everything starts to change."

Michael nodded. "But it's a good kind of change."

"I guess so." Josie replied. She was quiet for a moment and then looked up at Michael over her shoulder and smiled. Somehow she knew that no matter how much life changed, how much she changed, Michael would always be a constant in her life and she took comfort from that.

A month into the new school year and Josie was taking comfort from Michael in other ways as well. She and Kate had started drifting apart as the school year moved on and they each started making plans for their lives after high school. Josie had a list of universities she wanted to go to, she'd already been working on her application packets for her top three, and hardly any of them matched Kate's. Kate was thinking about going back to England while Josie had her heart set on the East Coast. So when they agreed to break up Josie turned to Michael who was more then willing to be there for her.

Lying on the couch in her living room with her head on a pillow that rested on Michael's lap Josie watched the credits roll on the movie they'd been watching. Turning her head so she could look up at her best friend she said, "I think I'm going to ask my mothers if I can do the study aboard program. If I want to go during third quarter I need to get my packet in by the end of the week."

"Why the change of heart?" Michael asked.

"It's a great opportunity." Josie answered.

Michael gave her a look that said he didn't buy that. "It was a great opportunity when Ms. Hartman asked you if you'd be interested and you said no. What's changed from then to now?"

"This has nothing to do with me breaking up with Kate." Josie said with a frown.

"Sure it doesn't." Michael replied and then sighed when Josie sat up. "And I didn't mention Kate you did."

Josie glared at him and then huffed as she turned back towards the tv and started a new movie. She was finished pouting by the time the move was over and made Michael take her out for burgers.

Later that evening as she stood in the window watching Josie and Michael sitting in his car talking in front of the house, Callie couldn't help but feel sorry for all the people who would come in and out of their lives in the future. In them Callie saw a lot of herself and Mark, and Izzy and George, and even Meredith and Christina, so she knew that whoever they choose to share their lives with as they lived their lives looking for the person they were made for, that person would have to deal with the relationship Josie and Michael shared. She also knew that it wouldn't be easy for whom ever that person turned out to be. So standing here now not knowing the whos or whens, Callie felt sympathy for them.

"Did you two have a nice time?" Callie asked when Josie came inside.

Josie nodded as she sat beside her mommy on the couch and cuddled into her side as soon as Callie put her arms around her. She knew that if she wanted to bring up the idea of going aboard her mommy would be the one to talk to first. After all it had been Callie who'd struck out on her own by joining the Peace Corps. "Mommy, I've been thinking. When school started Ms. Hartman, she's the French teacher and the head of the Study Aboard program, well she offered me a place this year and I've kind of being thinking I'd like to do it."

"That's great mija." Callie said proudly. "I think it'll be a wonderful experience. Where would you be going?"

Well that was easier then Josie had expected. "The school offers England, Spain, France and Japan. I'd like to try Japan."

Callie smiled. Josie had always had a fascination with the East. "How long would you be gone?"

"Just ten weeks." Josie answered. "It would be all of the third quarter. This year's pretty light for me so it's kind of perfect, and I'd get college credit."

"Are you sure?" Callie asked. "That kind of thing can be tricky."

Josie nodded. "I've checked."

"With Brown." Callie said with a playful huff.

The young blonde laughed, her pretty blue eyes sparkling. "Yes Mommy, with Brown. You know that's where I want to go."

Callie just sighed a deep dramatic sigh. "Brown." She grumbled.

It was going to be hard enough following in such huge footsteps as a surgeon some day, so Josie had decided to avoid all of her parents' alma maters to give herself a chance to prove herself without worrying about being in someone's shadow. Brown University would give her that chance, plus it had a cutting edge medical program. When she'd told her parents her plans they'd all been both proud and a little disappointed.

"So I'm guessing you're asking for my help in talking to Mama?" Callie asked as she cuddled with her baby who wasn't a baby anymore. At seventeen Josie was tall, filled out and beautiful. She was tall like Mark, but her body shape was all Arizona. She had Mark's square jaw, but Arizona's round face, with those cheeks, and those dimples that Callie still found melted her heart every day. Her eyes were a shade of blue that was lighter then Arizona's but darker then Mark's, and her hair was just the other way around, darker then Arizona's but not nearly as dark as Mark's. Her baby girl was the perfect mix of the love of her life and her best friend and Callie couldn't have been more thrilled. Plus, there was still that hint of color to her skin that shouldn't have been there given the pale blondness of her biological parents. Callie was still taking credit for that, still insisting she'd slipped some of her own genes to Josie while she carried her. Lord knew she slipped the girl her big loving heart and hot Latina temper.

"Yes please." Josie replied flashing her Mommy that smile with those dimples and knowing Callie couldn't refuse.

It took a lot of convincing but in the end Arizona agreed to let Josie go. As she and Callie stood at the airport watching their baby girl disappear behind the security check point the normally bubbly blonde could feel the tears stinging her eyes. Josie would be gone for ten weeks and then be back for a few months and then off for good, off to college, off to a life all her own. It was the happiest and saddest thing in the world. As soon as she felt her wife's arm go around her Arizona turned into Callie and buried her face in that place where neck met shoulder and let the tears fall. Callie wrapped her arms tightly around her wife, and they stayed that way until Josie's plane took off.

A week later sitting in the cafeteria Arizona was still pouting. When Teddy sat down across from her best friend and saw the dimness in her eyes and the sulky expression she looked at the dark haired woman sitting beside the other blonde. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's still missing Josie." Callie explained. "And it's not helping that Josie's already settled and having a wonderful time."

"She's been gone a week and she's already met a boy she likes." Arizona said with a sad little huff.

"We don't know that she likes him." Callie said.

Arizona shot her wife a look. "Every other line in her emails is about Koji."

"She's made a new friend." Callie said simply and with a roll of her eyes.

"A boy this time?" Addison said teasingly as she joined them. "She really is your daughter Cal."

That got a slightly more aggressive noise from Arizona so the other three women changed the subject quickly to how they were going to celebrate Callie's up coming twenty-fifth anniversary at Seattle Grace. Lots of doctors had come and gone over the years, waves and waves of interns, residents, and attendings, but the core of the surgical unit, the heads of each major department, had remained the same for as long as anyone could remember. Callie was a fixture at the hospital and her friends weren't going to let this milestone pass without a massive party.

The night of the party as Callie was putting on the amazing red gown she'd gotten for the occasion she was feeling both excited and a little sad. Sophie, who was a sophomore at Stanford, had come home for the weekend but Josie wasn't there and it felt as if there was a huge part of herself missing.

"You look awesome." Arizona said, as she stood in the doorway between their bedroom and bathroom in her own deep purple gown.

Callie turned from the mirror and smiled at her beautiful wife. Twenty-plus years together and Arizona was still the most beautiful thing Callie had ever seen. "You look pretty awesome yourself."

The blonde moved closer to her dark haired, dark eyed love and kissed her gently. "Do you know how proud I am of you?"

"I've a pretty good idea." Callie replied as she slid her arms around Arizona's waist. The kiss this time showed less concern for make-up and left both women breathless when they pulled away.

"Moms!" Sophie called up the stairs. "The car's here!"

Both women smiled mega watt magic smiles when they came downstairs to find their eldest and youngest waiting on them. Sophie, with her mommy's dark hair and eyes, looked stunning in the rich, dark pink gown she was wearing, and Mac looked every inch the young Sloan he was all decked out in his tux, with it's matching red vest and long tie. A flicker of sadness clouded Callie's dark eyes as her family gathered for a picture. "I miss her too." Arizona whispered into her wife's ear.

When they got to the ballroom everyone wanted a chance to talk to Callie, to congratulate her. Even her parents had made the trip, as did Arizona's. Her sister Aria and her family waved from across the room and Callie realized that for the first time since Sophie's graduation her whole family was in one place, well almost.

"You look sad mija." Carlos said as he put his arm around his daughter's waist. "You shouldn't look so sad on such an important night."

Callie gave her father a small smile. "I know Daddy." She said. "It's just that I'm really missing my baby girl."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm here."

Callie turned with wide eyes to find her daughter standing between her godmother and grandfather dressed in a pale blue gown, her blonde hair done up in ringlets the way Josie hated it, but Callie loved it. "Josie!"

"You didn't think I'd miss your big night did you?" Josie asked as she rushed to her mommy and hugged her tight.

"How did you get here?" Callie asked as she hugged the girl so tightly Josie couldn't breath.

Josie had the biggest teasing smile on her face as she said, "I have connections."

A dark brow raised as Callie said, "You do?"

The girl nodded, her smile beaming. "Yeap, connections that got me on a plane full of really good looking Marines."

Callie looked over at her father-in-law. "Thank you."

With Josie home for a visit the party really kicked off. Following dinner people started making speeches, Webber, Christina, and then Bailey got up to speak. "I have known Callie Torres since out first days as residents. Back when we were both still finding our footing. Back in the days when interns, fellow residents and even the attendings called me the Nazis because I was straight forward, hard as nails, and all about the work. Back when she was this young hotshot super star in Ortho, already on her way to great things and just in her third year, who somehow managed to beat me, ME, out for chief resident. Back in the golden days when no one would ever thing of ever coming to me with their personal issues, everyone except of course Callie Torres."

Everyone in the room laughed at the exasperated way Bailey had said that last line.

"That girl would walk up to me and start talking about things I really didn't wanna know about." Bailey continued, an adoring smile tugging at her lips as she remembered those moments. Helping Callie out when she'd been chief resident. Talking to her when George cheated with Izzy Stevens. Callie in light blue scrubs and long hair starting to rant about having a date with a woman. Finding herself searching Callie out later on to give the girl a little advice. Watching Callie play head games with her competitors whenever money was on the line. Watching from across the room as Callie's face lit up over the new perky Peds surgeon, who drove her just as crazy as Callie did. "Well, that is after I got done being mad at her over the chief resident thing."

"Which you got anyway!" Callie called up.

"Because you were just bad at it." Bailey replied and everyone laughed. Then her smile brightened. "I got to watch Doctor Torres do some amazing things at Seattle Grace. I got to see her pull off miracles." Bailey reviewed some of Callie's most memorable cases before continuing. "I was also blessed to see Callie Torres become the amazing woman she is today, the happy woman with a full life not only at work but at home. I'm honored to have been your colleague for these past twenty-five years, Doctor Torres, and I'm so very blessed to have been your friend even more."

When Callie got up to speak she hugged Bailey and whispered in her ear that she loved her. Then she stepped up to the mike and tried not to look ill. "Twenty-five years and I still hate speaking in front of people." She said a little nervously. "When I first sat down with Doctor Webber for my interview for the program in a hotel conference room a week before my graduation from medical school I could have never imagined then what I look back on now. I was performing solo surgeries in my third year. I was the creator and master of the golden key when it came to passing tests and boards. I froze a man to fix his crushed spine so he'd be able to walk again. I built a brand new set of legs for a man out of hardware from the supply closet. I reconstructed a man's crushed hands so he could continue to work and make the most beautiful woodcarvings. I reversed the damage of polo and for the first time in forever watched a man take his second first steps. I've strained spines so curved people were walking doubled over. I built a new neck for a kid. I created cartilage from starch. I helped to save a dancer's leg from cancer. I've done remarkable things and I've gotten to do them because of the people around me, because the people of this hospital believed in me."

Arizona and their children, their parents, and their friends all watched Callie with such love and pride that everyone in the room could feel it.

"But none of that, none of that is the best of what Seattle Grace has given me." Callie said, her gaze falling to her wife. "I met my wife in that hospital. Well, actually I met her in the bathroom at Joe's when she followed me in and kissed me, but I found out who she was in the hospital. We got to know each other. We got to fall in love, get married, and be happy. Our children were born in that hospital. I've met my closest friends in that hospital, lived out the biggest moments of my life at Seattle Grace. It's not just a place its part of the family and I'm not going anywhere any time soon. There's still lots of badass rock star in this old surgeon."

After all the formal stuff was finished, complete with giving Callie a beautiful engraved mantel clock, the real party got started. There were lots of desserts, drinks, music and dancing. Josie stood with her sister and watched their mothers dance with adoring smiles on their faces. It meant a lot to both girls to see the love their mothers still shared after all these years. At some point during the night someone, Josie everyone suspected, managed to find a karaoke machine. Several people in the room found it extremely funny that Callie sang I Kissed a Girl and I liked

It, but neither she nor Arizona thought it was funny when their daughters did Like a Virgin. Josie later made up for the teasing by doing one of her mommy's favorite Adele songs.

It was well after two in the morning when the family finally made it home. Callie helped a very sleepy Mac up to bed while Sophie and Josie raided the kitchen for leftovers of their moms' cooking. Josie got to spend the weekend with her family before going back to finish off her study aboard program. While she was there Chris came to visit and she'd started dating her friend Koji. When it was time for her to head home breaking things off with him had been much easier. If she were honest with herself she'd admit that he was the rebound guy, but he was sweet and fun and handsome, and she didn't want to stick that label on him.

Josie Torres was seventeen and she was already oh-for-three in the love department. She really hoped things got better because she was starting to think that love kind of sucked.


	27. Age Eighteen: Brave New World

No one was home at the Robbins-Torres house because it was family date night. Twice a month Callie and Arizona Robbins-Torres took their children, nearly eighteen-year-old Josephine and ten year old Timothy, and when she was home twenty-one year old Sophie, out on the town for some family time. Doing something all together and having a meal out together had become a bit of a challenge as the kids got older but Callie and Arizona insisted that it happen and all three Robbins-Torres children knew better then to argue over it. Plus they enjoyed it every bit as much as their mothers did, not that Sophie or Josie would admit it. Tim, who most people called Mac, which was short for Mini-McSteamy, was still young enough to express freely without loss of cool points that he liked hanging out with his moms.

The house was still and quiet since no one had been there since their cleaning lady had left and the dogs were all asleep. After she'd gotten out of school Josie had picked Mac up and then drove them to the hospital to meet up with their mothers, who she'd dropped off that morning. Josie didn't mind having to get up earlier then normal to drop her moms off because it meant that she got to drive her Mommy's T-Bird. Pulling into the senior parking lot at school in the classic car always got Josie a little extra attention and with it nearly being prom season a little extra attention was warranted since she was single and looking for a date.

Walking into the house from the garage the stillness of the semi-dark house was broken as soon as Callie flipped on a light. The quite shattered by the conversation going on behind her. "Mac, that was not the best movie we've ever seen."

"Yes it was." The ten year old argued. "It was funny and had cool fights and lots of stuff blew up and there was even mushy stuff for the Moms."

Josie rolled her eyes at her little brother and shook her head. "You're ten. You wouldn't know a good movie if it bit you on the…"

"Josie!" Arizona warned as she gave her daughter a look.

"The nose." Josie said and then stuck her tongue out at her Mama. As if she were stupid enough to swear in front of her mothers. "Bit you on the nose."

As soon as they'd heard voices the family's dogs came running to greet them and be let out. Rosie and Grey were both getting on in years. Rosie had just crossed over into that twelve to fifteen years lifespan limit on huskies, and Grey was a year and half behind her. Both dogs however seemed to find new life with the addition of Mandy, a red long haired miniature dachshund that Josie had gotten for her birthday and named Amanda after Katharine Hepburn's character in Adam's Rib, her favorite Hepburn/Tracy movie.

While Josie was outside with the dogs Callie was looking through the mail, which their housekeeper had left on the entry table, where everyone dropped their keys when they walked in. She was flipping through the envelopes and sorting out the magazines and medical journals as she called out to her wife that her issue of American Pediatrics was finally in. "I don't see why you don't just download it to your…"

"To my what?" Arizona asked as she looked over at her wife from where she'd been hanging up their coats. "Calliope?" The blonde frowned when she saw her wife staring down at something in her hand and walked over to see what it was. At the top left hand corner of the envelope Callie was staring at was the unmistakable english red cross coat of arms of Brown University and dead center was the name Josephine Robbins-Torres. "Oh." Was all Arizona could think to say.

Of course they were excited by the prospects their daughter's future held. Josie was a smart kid with a good head on her shoulders. She was going to do great in college. But doing great in college meant leaving home, leaving them, and that was breaking their hearts. To make matters worse Brown was on the other side of the country and a lot harder to get to then Sophie was down in California. But Josie had her heart set on the school that created and was there for number one in the liberal medical education field, which of course didn't surprise anyone really. If Josie was going to do something of course she was going to do it right and be the best at it.

"We should tell her it's here." Arizona said softly.

Callie nodded. She set the other mail aside and led her wife over to the couch and sat down. They sat there waiting for Josie to come back inside, knowing she'd have to come right pass them to get to the stairs. Arizona said they had to tell her. She hadn't said they had to rush to tell her. Callie was going to cling to these final few seconds before everything in their lives changed one way or the other. They were about to have either a very excited Josie who would be moving to Rhode Island, or a very broken hearted Josie who'd be moving somewhere else. It was really no a no win for them, but they were still hoping they're baby girl was about to get her dream.

As soon as Josie spotted her mothers she knew something was up. "What's wrong?"

"This came for you." Callie said as she held out the envelope.

Josie stepped closer and took the envelope. "Oh." She said sounding just like her Mama had moment before. "This is it I guess." She looked up at her mothers who nodded and then sat across from them on the coffee table. "What if I didn't get in?"

"You got in." Arizona reassured.

"Of course you got in." Callie agreed. "Open it mija."

Her hands shook as Josie turned the envelope over. As her finger broke the paper apart the sound of it ripping seemed almost deafeningly loud to her. Josie held her breath as she slid the paper inside out of the envelope and unfolded it. Her mothers watched, holding their breaths as well, as Josie read it. "Dear Miss Josephine Robbins-Torres." Josie began, her voice cracking. "I hope you are as pleased to receive this letter as I am to send it to you. You have been admitted to the 269th class to enter The College of Brown University. The Board of Admissions has selected from nearly 20,000 applicants those men and women who, as members of the Class of 2036, will give The College what promises to be the strongest class ever. You will be one of 1500 freshman who…"

She didn't get to finish reading because her mothers had pulled her to her feet and into their arms. It still hadn't hit her yet, not until she heard her mothers congratulating her, that she'd been accepted. She was going to Brown! When it finally sank in Josie started laughing and jumping up and down in excitement. "I got in!"

"You got in!" Her mothers cheered.

"We're so proud of you mija." Callie said as she held her baby's face in her hands and kissed her forehead.

"So proud." Arizona agreed with tears in her eyes.

The rest of the night was spent making Skype calls to Sophie, to her grandparents, and normal calls to godparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends. Josie wanted everyone to know, and everyone was just as proud and excited for her as her parents, even Michael Karev who hadn't heard from Brown yet, because of course he'd applied too since that's where Josie wanted to go. Some of the buzz about Josie going to Brown was dulled a few weeks later when Michael found out he didn't get in, though it helped that he would be kind of close by at Rutgers.

Josie had really been relying on Michael as of late and the two were closer then they had been in years. Which is why it hurt a little when she found out that Michael had asked Tatum Jenson to prom.

Standing in the parking lot of their prep school high school Josie was waiting on fifteen-year-old Emily Montgomery. The girls were going to head over to the private school where the younger cousins were to pick up eleven-year-old Lillian Hunt and twelve year old Carol Sheppard for a girls' afternoon at the mall. She'd just tossed her backpack and uniform blazer into the back seat of her Jeep when she heard someone behind her. "About time."

"Time for what?"

That was not Emily's voice. Turning on her heel Josie found herself face to face with Luis Iglesias, captain of the boy's soccer team and co-captain, along side her, of the debate team. "Oh, Luis, sorry. I thought you were my cousin."

"Disappointed?" The tall tan skinned dark haired young school super star asked with a dazzling smile.

Josie shook her head as she returned the smiled. "No, of course not."

"Good." Luis replied. "I was hoping to catch you before you left for the weekend. I wanted to ask you in person."

"Ask me what?" Josie asked as she leaned back against her jeep with her arms loosely crossed and one leg bent up.

Luis smiled as he let his dark eyes roam over her for a moment. "If you don't already have plans I'd really like it if you'd go to prom with me."

It took a lot of will power to keep the surprise off her face. Josie was popular sure but popular enough for one of the school all stars to ask her to prom? "No, I don't have any other plans. I'd love to go with you." She fished a pen out of her jeep and then took Luis' hand. Emily was coming towards them with a questioningly look on her face as Josie wrote her number in the palm of Luis' hand. "Call me later. Maybe we can catch a movie or something, ya know, just to make sure we actually like each other."

Luis smiled. "Would tomorrow night be to soon?"

"Call me later and I'll let you know." Josie said with a playful smirk.

Emily watched in utter awe as Luis walked away. Looking up at Josie she asked, "What did he want?"

"A prom date." Josie said with a beaming smile as they climbed into her jeep and she started it up.

Josie and Luis hit it off, going on several dates before prom. Since she was having her dress made and knew her colors it was easy for Josie to give him a color sample so he would match. Her mothers took the day of prom off so they could spend it with Josie, taking her to the spa and to the hairdresser and then helping her into her dress. Sitting on Josie's bed watching her as she looked herself over in the mirror both Callie and Arizona had tears in their eyes, Josie was stunning. She'd gone with darker colors then she had in the past. Her dress was a dark red, black and sliver. The sliver and black details on the front popped against the dark red color of the upper corset, which was drawn tight in the back by wide sliver ribbon so it hugged Josie's figure. The skirt was full and had several layers of netting that made the red darken as the dress flared out. Josie had even gotten full-length opera gloves made to match. It was a classic, Victorian look, and with her hair pinned up and in curls it looked as if Josie had just stepped from one of her old black and white golden era movies.

"Josie, baby, you look beautiful." Arizona said as she stood up and walked over to her daughter.

"Thanks Mama." Josie said softly. She smiled that perfect blended smile that was a little bit Callie and little bit Arizona. She'd given up earlier in the day on asking her Mama to stop crying but as she turned to get her Mommy's option she felt her own eyes began to sting. "Oh not you too."

"Sorry mija." Callie said as she smiled a mega watt smile. "You're just so beautiful." Walking over to her daughter she cupped her baby's face in her hands. "Just like your Mama."

Josie smiled, her tears welling a little more as her Mommy kissed her forehead.

"He's here!" Mac yelled up the stairs.

Of course this was going to be an event. Everyone had come over to see Josie in her dress and see her get picked up. Teddy was peeking out the window while Addison was whispering for her to stop spying. "Hired a car." Teddy said. "A silver Bentley, nice."

"Let me see." Mark said as he pushed Teddy out of the way. "I hope he doesn't think that not driving means he can get drunk."

"Dad." Sophie groaned.

"Mark, get away from the window." Callie said as she and Arizona came downstairs to answer the door. She shooed him away just as the knock came. She gave Mark a look that told him to behave and then walked over to let Luis in.

Luis was in a black Riviera style tuxedo with a deep red vertigo style vest and matching windsor tie. He looked very handsome and a perfect match for Josie. "Good evening Doctor Torres, Doctor Robbins."

"Hello Luis." Callie greeted as she let the boy in. "You look very handsome."

"Thank you." Luis replied.

"Josie will be down in a moment." Arizona said, smiling at the way Luis was looking at the gathering of people while trying to look as if he wasn't. "Family always comes out of the woodwork for big events."

"I understand." Luis said with a smile. "My family is waiting at the EMP museum. That's where Josie and I decided to take pictures."

No one got to say anything else because Lexie gasped. "Oh Josie."

Mark's whole face lit up at the sight of his little girl. "Wow kid, wow."

Josie chuckled softly as she hugged her father. "Thanks Daddy."

"You look amazing." Luis said as Josie came towards him.

"So do you." Josie replied as he held out her corsage.

It took forever for them to get through taking pictures because Mark had decided that if Luis' family was going to be there so was Josie's. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, godparents all pointed cameras at them as they stood against the multi-colored walls of the museum. By the time they were finished Josie had spots in her vision from the flashes. When they finally arrived at the ballroom Josie couldn't help but be in awe. The theme was This Moment in Time and decorations were done up as if looking back through time, lots of clocks, lots of black and white pictures of places like Hollywood, New York City, London, Pairs, and of course Seattle. Black, white, and silver were the main colors but there were splashes of color as well; the Tardis blue was a nice touch. Josie would have to find her more nerdy friends on the decorating committee and hug them for that one. There were cardboard stand-ups of couples dancing in tuxedos and gowns that reminded Josie of the costumes in some of her favorite movies. The picture area was dominated by a huge clock, which couples were standing in front of having their official pictures taken.

"They really out did themselves." Josie said as she and Luis made their way through the room looking for their table.

Luis snorted. "With all the money we raised and the prices of tickets and stuff, they'd better have."

The night was spent dancing, eating, drinking, and socializing with friends. Josie was having a wonderful time and was really glad she'd brought an extra memory card and battery for her camera. She even took a few pictures with her phone and texted them out to her family. About an hour after they arrived, while Luis was off getting them another round of sodas, Josie finally spotted who'd she'd been looking for since getting there.

"My god Josie." Michael said as he walked up to her looking suave and handsome in black tux pants, a black shirt, and blue vest and tie, no jacket. "You're beautiful."

Josie blushed. "Thanks." She smiled brightly as she hugged him. "You're looking pretty good yourself."

"Wanna dance?" Michael asked.

Josie beamed. "I'd love too."

Michael took Josie's hand and led her out on the floor. They didn't know it yet but this was just the first of many moments of this kind that would happen between them. The song was a classic, old, slow one; Ray Charles began to sing You Don't Know Me, and they begin to dance. Josie took in the words and the way Michael was holding her and there was the smallest flicker of something deep down inside her. As the song faded Josie, who'd had her head on Michael's shoulder, pulled back enough to look at him. Blue eyes looked right into hazel and for a moment, just a fleeting moment, they were on the same page.

"Josie!" Luis called out as he approached. He nodded at Michael. "Hey man." Then looked at Josie. "I think I have the DJ talked into doing some Latin songs. Ready to show off those moves you said you have?"

She was reluctant but Josie pulled away from Michael, turning towards Luis with a smile. "Don't let the blonde hair and blue eyes fool you Luis. I learned to dance from the best." Josie hooked her arm around Luis' and started to walk away, but paused for a moment to look over her shoulder at Michael before Luis pulled her into the crowd.

For several days after the prom that moment with Michael would replay in Josie's mind, but as life and senior year went on it would be filed away with other small little moments the two shared.

One Friday afternoon while studying for finales Josie reached for her iPad, in desperate need of a break from mathematical theory. Curling up into the corner of the sofa, Josie picked one of her favorite playlists, and then started checking her email. She smiled as she read through a letter from Tuck, rolled her eyes at the lolcat pictures George sent her, ached a little as she watched a video from Sophie, and then felt a spike of excitement when she realized she'd been sent housing information from Brown. Because she and her parents made sure everything was in early she had first dips on housing and such, but because she was a freshman she would have to have a roommate in a double room rather then being alone in a single.

"What are you reading mija?" Callie asked as she came into the room from the kitchen.

"Housing sent me my dorm assignment and the name of my roommate." Josie said as she read over the information. "I'll be in a double in Mead House with a girl from Cleveland named Christina Burke."

Callie raised an eyebrow and made an amused sound in the back of her throat.

"What?" Josie asked as she looked up at her mommy.

"Nothing." Callie said with a shake of her head. It was to long and complicated a story to explain why the name Christina Burke was funny to her.

Josie looked at her mommy for a long minute before shrugging and turning her attention back to the device in her hands. "They sent me her email. Should I email her?"

Callie nodded. "It's always a good idea to get to know the roommate as soon as possible. That way if you can't stand each other you can do something about it before you end up living together."

Made sense to her, so Josie opened up a new email. "What should I say?"

"Just start with a simple introduction." Callie advised.

Josie nodded and did just that. She also let Christina know that she could be found on the social sites. Forty minutes later she got a reply. Josie was still sitting on the sofa but instead of being curled in the corner she was cuddled up with her Mama who'd finally gotten home from the hospital. "This is cool." She said as she read over the email. "Christina's dad is a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. So that's something in common."

Callie's earlier amusement was quickly turning into real curiosity. "Oh? What kind of doctor? Does she say?"

"A surgeon." Josie answered. "Cardio. Her mom's a musician, that's cool."

Snatching up her blackberry Callie sent a text to Mark and then pulled up Google and did a quick search. The next day Callie, Mark and Addison were huddled together discussing the possibilities.

The closer it got to graduation the more Josie's emotions stirred. Of course she was excited about everything. The thought of college life, of all the new experiences and her first real taste of freedom was thrilling. It was also very terrifying. Josie was close to her family, close to her mothers, and the thought of being so far away from them scared her. She'd always been an independent kid, sure, but she also relied on her mothers, her dad, and the other adults in her life to keep her world stable while she walked on it's narrow walls with her eyes closed. The thought of leaving behind the only world she'd known her whole life for this brave new world where she'd be alone had caused a lot of tears and late nights talking with her sister. Sophie always knew just what to say to call Josie back from the edge of a total freak out.

The morning of Josie's graduation Arizona found her daughter dry heaving in the bathroom and it reminded her so much of Callie that it made her smile despite herself. Walking in she wet a washcloth with cool water then placed it on Josie's neck before wetting another to wipe Josie's face. She knew from watching Josie the last several weeks that this wasn't just about speaking at the ceremony it was about what happened afterward. Arizona knew that if Josie was going to get through the day she'd need a distraction. "Mommy's picking up the plane tickets next week." One of Josie's gifts was getting to pick where the family went on vacation and Josie had picked Spain and Brazil. "And everything's ready for the party tomorrow. I hope you remembered to thank your sister for picking up your dress from the tailors."

"I did." Josie said softly, her voice horse from throwing up and dry heaving.

Arizona smiled reassuringly at her daughter when she saw the flicker of panic. "You'll be fine when it's time. A little tea with honey and you'll be right as rain." Leaning in she placed a kiss on her baby's forehead. "Come on. Lets get you ready."

"Everything alright?" Callie asked as Arizona and Josie passed her in the hall.

"Everything's fine." Arizona said with a look that said it all.

Standing on stage at the podium dressed in her cap and gown Josie looked out over the sea of faces. She felt ill. "For weeks I've been trying to think of what to say to you all." She began, addressing her classmates. "I wanted it to be something no one else has said. I had no idea what that would be until I noticed a certain song that kept playing whenever I'd shuffle my iPod and it hit me. For our entire lives we've lived in our safe little worlds surrounded by the people who love us and the people who have nurtured and taught us, and all of us in one way or another are about to leave that world for a new one. We're about to become cowards in a brave new world." Josie paused. "Yes, cowards, because speaking for myself, I'm scared to death. Like the song says, we're putting ourselves in the hands of fate. We're venturing into the unknown and we're doing it on our own."

She paused for a moment and then continued. "On our own yes, but not alone, not like we've all been thinking. I realized in the last few days really that while we're out there in that brave knew world we're not really leaving our loved ones, our friends and family, in the old one. No matter where we go or what we do we take a piece of them with us." Josie smiled. "When I smile I have dimples, I get that from my Mama, and I'm taking that piece of her with me. This morning I was so worked up about speaking today that I made myself sick, my Mom does that too when she's faced with public speaking, when I get upset or flustered I mumble or rant in Spanish, Mom does that too. I'm taking those parts of her with me. I can be unbelievably charming when I want to be. I get that from my Dad. I giggle like my sister, and my brother and I both have this kind of full on belly laugh that makes our mothers giggle and roll their eyes at us. Duty, honor, loyalty, honesty, compassion, love, caring, are just a handful of things that I've learned from my family, and I'm taking all of it out there with me. I also take everything I've learned in and out of the classroom during my years here, things that we've all learned. We all have pieces and parts of the people in or lives that we're taking along with us. Cowards in a brave new world, yes, but we're well armed cowards. We're ready to take on our futures and for that on behalf of us all I thank those who've helped get us ready."

After taking her seat Josie looked for the faces of her family and seeing the pride on her parents faces made her smile and the tears in her mothers' eyes made her own sting. After the ceremony was over Josie went looking for Michael. With her diploma in it's little black folder and her cap clutched to her chest with one arm, she used the free one to throw around his neck when she found him back stage. Michael hugged her so tight, lifting her off her feet, and when he put her down, before he could say a word, she kissed him. She really kissed him, and when it was over, after they'd stared into each other's eyes, after they'd had another one of those unexplainable moments between, she ran off to find her parents.

Neither of them talked about the kiss at their respective parties. Josie went off on her trips with her family; Michael spent a lot of time with his mother, before coming back to Seattle to be with his Dad before he went off to Rutgers. Josie spent as much time with the people she loved as she could and just like that the summer was over. Most of early August was spent preparing, shopping, packing, shipping things cross-country. By the time the dinner her mothers planned for her rolled around the kiss was just something else Josie had filed away. Just like the memory of the extra long hug Michael gave her at the end of the night.

Stepping into her new dorm room Josie looked around at the stark walls and minimal furnishings and once again felt that mix of excitement and terror. This was it, she was really here, she was really doing this. No turning back now.

"Come on mija lets get you settled in." Callie said from behind her daughter.

Josie nodded. She and both of her mothers had boxes in their arms while her dad was unloading her suitcases. The room had a small common living area; two equally sized small sleeping areas, and a very tiny bathroom. Home sweet home for the next year she thought as she picked one of the sleeping areas.

Down at the rental car Mark was pulling suitcases out of the trunk when he heard a voice out of the past. "Mark Sloan?" Mark turned, his eyes going wide. "Preston Burke? Well, I'll be damned."

As the two men shook hands Burke asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Moving my little girl into her dorm." Mark answered with pride. "You?"

"Same." Burke replied.

Upstairs Josie was meeting her roommate for the first time face to face. "These are my mothers." She said after she and Christina had greeted each other. "Callie and Arizona Robbins Torres."

"Hello Doctor Torres, Doctor Robbins." Christina greeted. "Josie's told me a lot about you in her emails. This is my mother Mei Burke."

While the mothers greeted each other the girls both said their dads were getting more things from their cars. There was laughter and giggles coming from the room as Mark walked in. He smiled as he was introduced. When Preston walked in Callie's jaw dropped. "Burke?"

Burke blinked. "Torres?"

Mark laughed. "Small word isn't it?"

"You know each other?" Josie asked.

Callie nodded. "Doctor Burke use to work at Seattle Grace when I was a resident."

Burke looked between Callie, Mark and Arizona and then he asked Mark. "You and Torres have a daughter?"

"Me, Torres and Robbins have three kids together, two girls and a boy." Mark said. He was going to enjoy this. "Doctor Arizona Robbins, Callie's wife." He introduced.

"Nice to meet you Doctor Robbins." Burke said as he shook her hand and then once again looked at his form colleagues. "We really need to have drinks and catch up."

Callie gave a mischievous grin as she said, "We've met Christina." She paused, her grin turning to a smirk. "Yeap, a drink sounds really good."

That evening while the girls were at a dorm meeting the adults gathered around a table in a near by pub. "So let me get this straight." Bruke said. "You have six kids with four mothers?"

"That we know of." Callie tossed in.

Mark glared at her. "Yes. There's Sloan, who was a teenager before I even knew she was out there. Sophie, Josie and Tim with these two. And my wife Lexie and I have two, Ryder and Zoey."

Bruke shook his head and then looked at Callie. "When I left you were still with George O'Malley."

"Long, long, long, long, long time ago." Callie said. "A whole other lifetime ago."

"It's a little strange." Mei said as she, Arizona, and Callie waited on Mark and Burke outside the pub. "Preston never talks about his time in Seattle. It's a little odd to actually meet people from that time in his life."

"It's a little strange for us too." Callie said honestly.

Inside at the bar paying the tab Burke asked, "How's…"

"She's fine, she's great." Mark answered. "She's married, has two kids, second in command of cardio, she's happy."

Bruke took that in, nodded, and said. "Good."

Late that night after their parents had gone off to their hotels Josie was using sticky putty to wallpaper one of her walls with pictures. In several of those pictures, unbeknownst to Christina and her mother, was the woman Christina had been named after. Josie knew a lot of stories, a lot of legends, but she didn't once put it together. All the times over the next few months that Josie talked about her aunt Christina the girls never knew, not until Josie was home for Thanksgiving and she was telling her aunts all about her roommate. Things got a little weird after that but by the end of the year the girls were friends again. By the end of the year Josie had built up a nice little world of her own and to her surprise it fit pretty nicely with her world back in Seattle.


End file.
